Former nurse paints the soul
Artist's vibrant colors show off her israeli roots
For Brighton artist Shoshana Ernst, every brushstroke represents small pieces of her own Israeli culture.
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“I paint to express what is in my subconscious,” said the 61-year-old retired nurse, whose pieces will be on display at the South End Open Studios on Sunday. “I take a blank canvas and create volumes, shifting and moving around images.”
Born in Tel Aviv, Ernst was constantly surrounded by art, having grown up in a household “that always smelled of paint, clay, turpentine, you name it.” Her father dabbled in sculpting and her cousin experimented with painting. In between studying for school, Ernst visited museums to sneak peeks at striking pictures, inspired by the works of Henri Matisse and Richard Diebenkorn.
“Art just makes me feel fulfilled,” said Ernst, who moved to the United States 35 years ago with her husband.
After working as a nurse for several years in the burn unit of the Tel HaShomer Hospital in Israel, many of Ernst’s works from that period are bleak as she covered the canvas in a fury of red and black colors.
Her most prized piece is “The Binding of Isaac,” a 60-inch by 100-inch painting that depicts a lamb surrounded by running soldiers and text from the Bible about Isaac’s sacrifice. To Ernst, the large artwork represents Israeli beliefs on how the sacrificed lamb represents the thousands of soldiers who forfeited their lives in defense of the Holy Land.
For Harvard University professor Irit Aharony, it’s the passion for Israel in each piece that makes her such a fan of Ernst’s work.
“Every color is the color of Israel,” said Aharony, 52, who teaches Hebrew and Israeli literature. “Ernst’s works throws me back to my roots, to the place where I was born.”
The opening reception for “Shoshana Ernst: Landscapes of the Soul” will be held Sunday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at 59 Wareham St., 3rd floor, Boston. For more information, visit www.shoshernst.com.
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