Chayei Sarah | חיי שרה

Audrey Flack, USA        

When I grieved for my autistic daughter, why did I not go to Sarah or other Jewish matriarchs for comfort? Because Sarah did not display her fear and sorrow openly. I had no model for sorrow, and no access to her strength. Instead, I found Mary. When I saw the face of the statue of Macarena Esperanza, the Virgin of Hope from Seville, openly weeping, I thought, oh my God, she knows what I feel. Mary was weeping for her son, and I was weeping for my daughter. Without fully realizing it, I looked to Macarena Esperanza for solace when I was deeply grieved with concern for my daughter. The tears she spilled were mine. 

Professional Background  Audrey Flack is a nationally recognized painter and sculptor.  She was the first photorealist painter whose work was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art.  Flack’s art is in the collections of major museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the National Museum of Art in Canberra, Australia. Flack is the recipient of the 2017 Women's Caucus for the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.