When Land of Painting was extended, I realized I had promised two paintings, Swing 1 and 2 to the group exhibition Midway to Nowhere. Thinking of what to hang in their place, I remembered two portraits of mine that are part of the Umm el-Fahem Museum collection, Hasna and Sigal.

Woman looking down at book with Hebrew print on her lap, she wears a torquoise patterned scarf, sitting on grey chair.

Sigal, 2002, oil on canvas, 100×65 cm (39×25 in)

Figure of woman looking straight ahead, with maroon-colored head covering and long embroidered dress, sitting on grey chair.

Hasna, 2001, oil on canvas, 100×65 cm (39×25 in)

I realized they would make a special display, creating an interesting dialogue with the Land of Painting series on view. Here is what I wrote about them, and about a recent portrait of Hasna:

I painted Hasna and Sigal over twenty years ago, as part of the series “Welcoming Guests.” The two portraits were donated to the Umm el-Fahem Museum collection in 2016. How do they relate the other paintings in this room? In several of the latter, images of walking feet appear, moving toward one another from the ends of a tightrope or a path. Despite the tension reflected in these paintings, this act of walking towards the other rekindled in me a desire to paint the human face and figure, and even to search for the people I painted in the past. The new painting of Hasna is the beginning of this renewed project.

Face of woman with grey head-covering looking straight ahead, with paint-strokes defining light and shadows.

Hasna, 2025, oil on wood, 25×23 cm (10×9 in)

Special display, installation view, Umm el-Fahem Museum of Art, spring 2025