ARTIST STATEMENT
My work centers around healing. I have been experimenting with collective consciousness and what we inherit from our ancestors. My primary focus is healing of place and its inhabitants utilizing sciences such as quantum physics, mechanics, geographical energy, alchemy and the Kabbalah. Being Jewish water plays a crucial role in purification, which is why I am drawn to the watercolor medium. A few years ago I had a profound experience while viewing the photographs taken in the Lodz ghetto by the Jewish photographer Henryk Ross. I captured images of his photos and with the assistance of my son created risograph prints of my photographs. In a meditative state, I used water, color and ancient transformative symbols to elevate the haunting images from the Holocaust. “Some Kind of Wonderful” began in a state of questioning, ‘how could someone do that to another?’ Yet the destruction of the temple may be the reason Kabbalah was created. What process is unfolding in times of struggle? The piece titled, “Life & Death in Flight: What We’ve Carried”, stemmed from a meditative reflection on my family’s escape from the antisemitism present in the Pale of Settlement in Russia/Poland. Although my ancestors took different paths, one side via South Africa to England, and the other by boat to Ellis Island, settling in Georgia,- they converged when my parents met in New York City, and ultimately in me. I carry their journey, and their legacy.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born and raised in Manhattan, now living in Portland Oregon. I have exhibited internationally for decades, last year in Assisi Italy, the home of St Francis of Assisi and a global peace center. Locally, I created an installation using water from the nearby Willamette River, also a superfund site. A multidisciplinary artist with an MFA in metal-smithing and years of experience creating installations, my current focus is on watercolor with printmaking. I wear many hats; -as a curator, radio personality, student of Kabbalah, and a certified facilitator of a mindfulness practice called The Work of Byron Katie. My focus is on healing and creating connection. I also study various forms of healing trauma and volunteer on a helpline.
© Rosa Silver