Batya F. Kuncman, Israel/USA

Parshat Vayechi

Bio

Batya F. Kuncman is an Israeli born multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Her "Landscapes for Humanity" painting series is currently (2010) on exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art. Batya's paintings, photographs, illustrations and digital media have been internationally exhibited in galleries that include the Museum of Modern Art of Toluca, Mexico and the Haun Tie Art Museum in Beijing, China. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications including MIT Technology Review and Wired.

www.batya.ws

Reflections on Being a Jewish Woman Artist

Perceiving my personal history as belonging to the continuum of Jewish and world history there is sense of being part of an enduring thread that connects all souls to the meaning of Torah.

I experience wonderment at the enormity of the inexplicable dimension in life; the awareness of the unknowable stimulates my continued attempts to investigate the enigmatic and integrate the information I gain into my art process.

My practice includes continual research and response to world events perceived as pieces of a mystical puzzle. The study of Torah, Midrash and Kaballah are a key factor in this process. Through it I access information that leads me on an endless perplexing road that is simultaneously a source of soaring inspiration.

The human and environmental tapestry of seemingly isolated events triggers a larger contextual tale which I explore intuitively, and through repetitive analysis. This process helps me gain information about the intrinsic meaning of being human — birth, decay and rebirth — the human condition at its most fragile, justice, eternity and the ambiguous relationship between "illusion" and what we call "truth."

At the core of the works there is a desire to explain existence, the quest to fix a broken world and illuminate with beauty tinged with tenderness. My work seeks to capture the human capability for love and greatness in a hostile and arbitrary world. Through it I try to connect the past to the present and future, to bridge between destruction and renewal, thus representing impossible realities not as phenomenon but as a natural component of everyday life.

One of the series that I have been continually working on in recent years is titled "In Front of Behind the Scenes" It is based on interpretation of biblical narratives about women who overcame adversity and became successful liberators and illuminators. Exploring the life stories of the pioneer women of the bible is an investigation into the sublime. Veiled in mystery, hidden behind the main action of the story, these women are the oil that keeps the wheels of history moving forward. By bringing their stories to the forefront, seen through the lens of Midrash and Kabbalah, these characters cease to be mythical figures and become living breathing individuals whose humanity we can perceive in contemporary terms.