Viewers can take a lot from this show in terms of the strength of the human spirit and the ability to constantly grow and evolve personally, creatively and spiritually.
By SARAH LEVI‘Klezmers’: A fond memory of a religious wedding in Netanya(photo credit: NIR LISMAN)
Heddy Kun fuses her childhood memories and six decades of painting with depictions of religious Jewish customs and traditions in her 64th solo exhibition.“From Holocaust to Revival and Creation” open on May 19 in Tel Aviv’s Carpise Gallery. The deeply personal exhibition consists of 18 original paintings she created within the past year – captured moments that are largely inspired by her haredi upbringing in Hungary during World War II. Images of Jewish weddings, rabbis and synagogues all come together to reveal the artist’s desire to reconnect with her past and come to terms with her roots.Known for her impressionistic style of paintings depicting flowers and landscapes, the octogenarian artist uses this body of work to prove that she can also reinvent herself and drastically change her style of painting.Kun, who was born in Zagreb, Croatia (former Yugoslavia), in 1936, lost her parents and her younger brother at the age of four in the Holocaust.She was sent to spend her childhood with her ultra-Orthodox grandparents in Hungary, where she adopted the traditions and lifestyle of the haredim while dreaming of living in Israel. At 18, she began to study painting in Budapest. At 20, she immigrated to Israel, where she joined the secular world and began to develop her artistic style, which was heavily influenced by the impressionist movement.It was through this style of painting that she was able to creatively escape her troubled past while visually reflecting the inspiration she felt by living in the land of her dreams. The result was more than 3,000 original paintings of Israeli nature, landscapes and flowers.This exhibition, however, gives her audience an intimate look into her inner soul as an artist. Curator of the show, Alexandra Lewin, describes this as “a spiritual journey where you learn to understand that you cannot cut off your roots, you have to embrace them. Realizing that she couldn’t sever her roots from her past, her religion and her spirituality, she embraced them in an exciting and relatable way.”Kun explains the urgency of her recent shift as an artist. Through her new artistic approach and style in her latest series of paintings, she wanted to show that she is still here and still a vital part of the art world. She fears this could be her last exhibition and her last chance to share with her viewers how she envisions a part of her religious upbringing and how she sees it today as a mature artist.Viewers can take a lot from this show in terms of the strength of the human spirit and the ability to constantly grow and evolve personally, creatively and spiritually.Lewin concludes, “It’s inspiring because at the age of 80 you can become reborn, you can renew your style, your strength, and you can analyze your memories and your past. It’s just amazing.”‘From Holocaust to Revival and Creation’ is on display at the Caprise Gallery on 42 Frishman Street, Tel Aviv, through June 9.
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