The painter has fallen asleep in the studio, and she allowed herself to bring forth images, without completely understanding all of the connections between them. Themes that simmer beneath and above the surface of these paintings is life as a both mother to soldiers and daughter to an aging father, and then the separation from that father. Water is present in some of these works; it merges with the paint that created it, or maybe washes it away. And there is also a lost bag of letters from a mother.

Ruth Kestenbaum Ben-Dov, Studio Dreams, 2015

Studio Dreams, 2015, oil on canvas, 82 X 140 cm (32 X 55”)

Ruth Kestenbaum Ben-Dov, Lost and Found, 2015, oil on canvas, 120 X 180 cm (47 X 71”)

Lost and Found, 2015, oil on canvas, 120 X 180 cm (47 X 71”)  More on Lost and Found here.

Ruth Kestenbaum Ben-Dov, Ki Tetzeh (When you go out to war), 2015

Ki Tetzeh (When you go out to war), 2015, oil on canvas, 100 X 145 cm (39 X 57”)

Ruth Kestenbaum Ben-Dov, Winter Painting of Faith and Doubt, 2016, oil on canvas, 71 X 149 cm (28 X 59”)

By Chance, 2016, oil on canvas, 71 X 149 cm (28 X 59”)

Ruth Kestenbaum Ben-Dov, Earth, Air, Water, 2017, oil on canvas, 70 X 50 cm (28” X 20”) each

Earth, Air, Water, 2017, oil on canvas, 70 X 50 cm (28” X 20”) each

Dance, 2017, oil on canvas, 125 X 95 cm (49″ X 37″)

Ruth Kestenbaum Ben-Dov, Dance 2, 2018, oil on canvas, 125 X 95 cm (49″ X 37″)

Dance 2, 2018, oil on canvas, 125 X 95 cm (49″ X 37″)

Ruth Kestenbaum Ben-Dov, Dance 3, 2018

Dance 3, 2018, oil on canvas, 70.5 X 70.5 cm (28″ X 28″)

Photographs by Dror Miler