Can art give us the ability to "flip the switch" in troubled times and use our own powers to advance human rights and dignity? Laurie Katz Yehia's art says "yes" and The Gallery@The Braid, home of Jewish Women's Theatre (JWT) in Santa Monica, will show us how in its first ever one-woman installation opening June 21.
Yehia's work is inspired by sacred texts and literature as well as meditation, philosophy, personal experience and the discourse of artists throughout history. Using oils, mixed media and innovative construction, she interprets stories from sources ranging from the Tantras of Shaivism, to Dante, to Song of Songs. Her work evokes "themes of fragmentation and re-unification with the Divine," the artist explains. "It speaks to us about changes we can make in perception, action and even the world in which we live."
Sacred Resistance: "Artwork Evoking Transformation and Self Reflection," opens Thursday, June 21 to complement opening night of Sacred Resistance, Vicki Juditz's inspirational one-woman show. The opening reception for Yehia's Gallery show is Saturday, July 7 from 6 to 7 pm with an Art Talk featuring Yehia at 6:30. There is no charge for the art show or talk, but tickets are needed to see Juditz's performance. Visit
www.jewishwomenstheatre.org for ticket information.
"We invite audiences to come to our home to share a transformative evening that will speak to each viewer in a personal voice," says JWT's artistic director Ronda Spinak.
Laurie Katz Yehia attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with additional courses at Stanford University, Wesleyan University and the School of Visual Arts in New York. She also received a J.D. from the University of Southern California. She has had solo and group exhibitions across the United States and has won many awards, including Showcases from ArtSlant. Her publications uniquely combine views on art and law.
Gallery director Marilee Tolwin says, "Our Gallery is displaying ten of Yehia's most important paintings. They will take viewers from Old Testament times, through the 14th century, to the present, while always presenting ideas that help us learn about spiritual salvation and moral progress."
Among the work on display are Song of Songs and Purgatory. Song of Songs is one of a series of oil paintings with mixed media on linen canvas, which was inspired by the Old Testament passage and by passages of the Radiance Sutras from the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, Sutra 3. "Layered, graffiti-like markings on plaster evoke the texts graphically in the painting, while dissolving and tessellated imagery and connective linear elements evoke their themes of fragmentation and re-unification with the Divine," says Yehia.
"Purgatory re-contextualizes Dante's allegorical description of a place of learning and moral progress in 14th century vernacular describing spiritual salvation. In contemporary lexicon, it is about personal growth and transformation. The painting's surface grew out of a searching process that included burning, scraping and sanding the wood panel as well as applying tar, marble sand and oil paints," she adds.
"My artwork reflects and reconfigures what I 'see' in open-ended ways. Putting objects in new contexts encourages thinking and seeing differently," Yehia explains.
The Gallery@The Braid will hold an opening night reception with the artist on July 7 beginning at 6pm at the Braid, home of Jewish Women's Theatre, 2912 Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. There will be an Art Talk at 6:30pm that precedes a performance of Sacred Resistance, the new JWT show starring Vicki Juditz. There is no charge for the art show or talk, but tickets are needed to see the show. Visit
www.jewishwomenstheatre.org for ticket information.
JWT, recently voted "Best Live Theatre on the Westside" by The Argonaut, stages and displays traditional and contemporary works and educational programming that provide a forum for the development, performance and showcasing of Jewish artistic talent. Now celebrating its 10th Anniversary, JWT's salon theatre of original dramatic shows, each written to a specific theme, displays the diverse and eclectic community of writers, artists and creators who celebrate Jewish life, one story at a time. Learn more about JWT at:
www.jewishwomenstheatre.org.
Image: Laurie Katz Yehia, SONG OF SONGS
