Roni Yoffe, ''Jael'' 2022

Roni Yoffe

''Jael'' 2022

It is always interesting to see contemporary interpretations of mythological and biblical themes. Much was said through characters from stories that shaped our culture. The story of Yael describes a familiar theme that has been painted hundreds of times in the West, but a representation of Yael alone, detached from the figure of Sisera, has yet to be found.

The artist Roni Yoffe chose the character of Yael to talk about two deep elements in the capitals of most of us - fear and desire, or in Freudian terms - sex and death. "She is frightening and seductive in equal measure and the whole painting deals with the balance of these two contrasts which in many cases are mixed together."

Oil on canvas
80/70 cm
signed

Roni Yoffe (1985), lives and works in Ramat Gan, Israel.
A realist painter.
Earns a living from painting and teaching, and manages the largest online painter community in Israel that supports painters and painters called '' a painting school '' (the community group can be found on Facebook).
'' My paintings are a study of materials and symbolism of various objects, with an emphasis on the Israeli-Jewish mentality and sometimes humorously interspersed with popular cultural motifs. To me humans are by nature "idolaters" - our objects symbolize, remind and curate the meanings we give them. They tell a story without words, without movement and without voice. They are valuable or everyday, nostalgic or status symbols, and are mostly sensual. They awaken our senses to a storytelling or spiritual experience: from the mezuzah to the last lemons, everything still contains meaning for us - aesthetic, ideological, personal or collective.
The objects are symbols, the symbols become associations and the associations become a memory of an experience, and together, in the new combination of painting - they become a personal and layered experience.
Engaging in silent narratives as story elements is fascinating.
The ability to tell a story or express a position with the help of objects and colors only allows play in metaphors and allegories without being too verbal.
The inanimate objects are actors on stage.
The intense connection to living and changing nature allows the work to receive content that is ongoing, the final painting being the total occurrence of the work - the changing lighting conditions combined with the mood combined with an artistic vision. ''

Ronnie studied realism with David Nippo and Aram Gershuni and teaches drawing in Ramat Gan. enjoy studying and residency in European cities, such as Tuscany.