2022-2023
In This Place
In these works, I felt the need to explore the connection between our physical and mental spaces. I use the technique of acrylic on canvas to express experiences of memory, identity, and grief, addressing the tensions that exist between the external and the internal, the public and the personal.
My sources of inspiration come from both internal and external visions, and from formative events in our lives. The works presented here are my attempt to position memory and mourning within a visual space.
The large painting, "Between the Horizon, the Place" (180x190 cm, acrylic on canvas), examines the moment of death in a philosophical way. The solitary figure rests beneath the reality described in the upper part of the work, inviting contemplation of the place that exists beneath the storm of life.
The diptych, "Funeral in a Red Landscape" (two parts, each 60x80 cm, acrylic on canvas), deals with loss from a national perspective. The hovering coffin, wrapped in the Israeli flag, is placed within an earth-toned landscape, expressing the difficulty of containing the loss that hovers above our lives.
Is the House Still Standing?
Untitled Series – Against the Background of the October 7 Events
This series was painted in the first weeks following the events of October 7, 2023 comprising three works in total — two measuring 50×70 cm and one measuring 80×60 cm – acrylic on black canvas.
From the darkness, points of light and fragile traces of hope emerge, or elusive presences of spirit. The period reflected a mental state of detachment and hovering between worlds.
The image of the house appears as a metaphor for an ambiguous space — perhaps destruction, perhaps protection, a plea for a guardian angel, or a symbol of farewell.
For me, this series is an invitation to a gaze that is both intimate and universal – a visual testimony to a historic moment that will never be forgotten by me, and also speaks to a universal national trauma, and the struggle to find meaning, light, and human connection within the darkness.
Little Angel with Auburn Hair
Rachel Ben Menachem
The angel first, the bars second,
A little angel with a shining halo,
And a puzzled prisoner, and a wall in view.
What name is there, for the baby in blue?
To be with innocence, to stop the sand,
With a drop of holiness and without toil.
Simply to be a little angel with auburn hair,
To be there first for the prisoner second.
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Black and White on Canvas (35x50 cm) - Preparation for Vienna Project
Created between March and May 2023, this series forms a central stage in the preparation for my project in Vienna. The works, black and white acrylic paintings on stretched canvas (35x50 cm), function as a visual and emotional record of an unfolding process.
The choice of a visual language based on black and white, with the subtle gradations of gray in between, was intentional: it removes the mediation of color and focuses attention on form, gesture, and emotional intensity. Broad, unsettled brushstrokes generate a shifting background of turbulence, revealing states of instability and unresolved movement. This approach opened a space to approach psychological terrains directly, without the weight of decorative distraction.
Recurring motifs anchor the series. One is the dark, dense sphere, often positioned at the figures’ feet. It points to the burdens carried—memory, grief, existential weight—and to the gravitational pull that resists release. The figures themselves remain abstract and gestural, less portraits than concentrated signs of the tension between heaviness and release, fall and ascent.
In retrospect, the works carry resonances that were not fully visible in the act of painting. They emerged during a period of collective unease in Israel, a climate charged with fragility and instability. Today, the canvases seem to register that atmosphere: the sense of a burden on the verge of breaking, of a reality close to fracture.
The series is a stage of preparation—preparation that also carries an echo of both internal and external realities, serving as an exploration of vulnerability, weight, and resilience in a time of uncertainty.
During my artist residency in Vienna, in June 2023 – just three months before the events of October – I was drawn into creation from deep inner feelings and reflections on Buddhist philosophy. I explored the concepts of impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha), and non-self (anatta).
My works, measuring 30–40 cm, were created in acrylic on stretched canvas, in black-and-white tones that create dramatic contrast. The blurred figures move within turbulent landscapes and whirlwinds of light and shadow, intensifying the sense of vulnerability, inner turmoil, and instability. The landscapes, and sometimes the trees appearing in the works, provide a sense of depth, movement, and an emotional space where the figures dissolve, move, and remain indistinct at their edges.
As part of this project, I challenged myself by sending the works to two curators from different schools of thought, aiming to observe their connection to the art and spark dialogue. The curators shared their correspondence with me and presented my work in a surprising and multi-dimensional light, which deeply moved and inspired me. Their exchange reflects contrasting yet complementary points of view.
One curator approached my works as a historical document and wrote:
"The blurred figures within the whirlwinds of light and shadow reflect the sense of uncertainty and division that characterized the period in Israel. The painting in which the figure dissolves into the background represents not only the loss of personal identity but also the loss of collective identity."
The second curator, who is also a Buddhist philosopher, responded:
"I see these works as a meditation on the nature of consciousness. The blurred figures remind us that there is no fixed 'self,' and the turbulent landscapes, trees, and whirlwinds reflect the turmoil of human consciousness, shaken by desires and fears. These are not merely depictions of external reality but a glimpse into the inner structure of consciousness."
My works emerged from an inner dialogue with the surrounding reality, which inevitably influenced me. At the same time, the visual language in the works was built upon philosophical principles from various sources, as a unifying force. I did not know then that these two tendencies would connect with such intensity.
From this encounter between the transient and the enduring, between the historical and the personal, I feel that my works serve as an intermediary space – a place where one can pause the gaze, stop for a moment within the storm, and sense the fragility and strength of human existence.
The paintings do not aim to provide answers but rather to open a space for questions: What is memory, and what is forgetting? Where does the self end, and where does the other begin? How can one find a point of light even when darkness surrounds?
In this way, each work is both a personal testimony and a gateway to a broader dialogue – with the viewer, with time, and with consciousness itself. Their exchange, for me, reflects an opening for contemplation on the essence of existence: both as a documentation of a moment in time and as a reminder of the echo of a period that will not be forgotten – while simultaneously part of the human search for serenity amidst a sea of pain and chaos.
I was not alone in this process. Curator Nurit Tal-Tana accompanied me throughout the creation period. Subsequently, the catalog and a video were produced, and today the catalog is held in the National Library and other art libraries.
About the Series
This project was born from the meeting between my inner world – dreams, symbols, memories, and emotions – and the unique atmosphere of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in October 2022. The inspiration came from ancient legends and the wild nature surrounding me. These paintings are like a visual diary, a product of this resonance.
At their core appear half-human, half-mythological figures, alongside objects placed in unexpected contexts. They express a search – perhaps even an attempt to answer questions with no clear resolution. One recurring image is a pig-like creature, which appears in a large painting: for me, it embodies the tension between childlike innocence and a primal, unconscious force of nature – a meeting that speaks about fear, growth, and self-acceptance.
My inspirations include artists such as Hieronymus Bosch, with his fantastic hybrid creatures, and Egon Schiele, who exposed the inner psychological state through the body. Frida Kahlo also accompanies me, in the way she weaves biographical elements into a world of symbols and fantasy.
The color palette is dominated by fiery shades of red, orange, and yellow. For me, it is not merely an aesthetic choice but a language – a dialogue with the unconscious and with the blurred moments between wakefulness and dream, where emotion outweighs reason.
I invite you to look at each work as a world of its own – not as a linear story, but as an experience. Perhaps you will recognize within it an echo of a dream, or a fragment of your own inner world.
The works were created using acrylic on stretched canvas, in the following sizes: 30×40 cm, 30×30 cm, 25×25 cm.
May 2022 | Szentendre, Hungary | Acrylic on Small Formats
I received an in-depth analysis of this series from a curator, highlighting the creative process, sources of inspiration, and the emotional landscape behind the works. The pieces created in May 2022 in Szentendre, an artists’ town in Hungary, were executed in acrylic on small formats and are characterized by expressive and abstract brushstrokes.
The creative process appears as a free stream of consciousness, in which forms and strokes blend intuitively, creating a tension between delicate shapes and the drama of color. Bold colors – red, yellow, and blue – contrast with neutrals such as gray, white, and black, enhancing the drama and emotional tension within the works.
Some figures occasionally evoke images from an inner world: fantastical beings, mythological figures, or distorted human forms. Some of the paintings depict figures with large, wide eyes reminiscent of children’s drawings or primitive art. The distorted figures emphasize complex emotional states – vulnerability, fragmentation, or partial dissolution – and may represent an inner emotional journey and the attempt to create an inner world where one can confront emotional complexity.
The works convey movement and dynamism, as if executed rapidly under a strong emotional impulse.
During this period, inspiration came from various sources: distorted figures and bold color usage reflecting inner states and feelings of anxiety, alienation, and solitude, reminiscent of period artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Emil Nolde; organic, ambiguous forms inspired by the Blue Rider group (Der Blaue Reiter); and mid-20th-century European modern painting, in works by Georg Baselitz and Jean-Michel Basquiat, noted for dramatic color, rough brushstrokes, and emotionally charged human figures. The expressive line and distorted figures are also present in these works.