The artist has loved art since childhood. \u201cI grew up in Los Angeles,\u201d he said in an interview with the Jewish Independent<\/i>. \u201cIt is a vibrant city for visual arts. There are an endless number of art galleries and museums, and I was always there. And, of course, I always drew and painted.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After getting his degree in visual art and history from California State University, Gleckman traveled extensively around Europe, before settling in Vancouver more than 30 years ago. But traveling has remained his passion and, during his travels, he invariably focuses on art and art history, museums and galleries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first visited Europe, I fell in love with Rococo and Baroque,\u201d he said. Baroque and Rococo are both highly ornamental styles, which infused the art and architecture of post-Renaissance Europe.<\/p>\n Later, he drifted towards more contemporary styles, both as an art connoisseur and in his own work. \u201cI suppose I can call my art abstract expressionism,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cColour for me is a vehicle that allows me to play with shapes and space,\u201d Gleckman explained. \u201cSpatial relationships and composition of the images are of the utmost importance to me. I\u2019m also concerned with depth and texture. I aim to create visual tension in my paintings. I think art shouldn\u2019t be too easy or too comfortable. I want my viewers to engage, to ask questions. \u2018What did he mean by that?\u2019 \u2018How does it make me feel?\u2019 My viewers might not arrive at the same inner realization I conceived, but their explorations are more important than my answers. When people interact with my art, they become part of the creation process.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With his current show, Gleckman seeks to \u201cportray things that lie beyond the tangible \u2013 that is, beyond the figurative, beyond the readily recognized narrative. The paintings in this exhibit are expressions of the inspiration I derive from biblical stories, religious thought, as well as rudimentary ideas within kabbalah. Selected from the portfolios of my professional artwork, these paintings are reflections of how I personalize the intangibles of Judaism.\u2026 These paintings are abstractions of my Jewish identity, an identity that is the product not so much of formal religious practice but the summative effect of intellectual and emotional sensibilities of my Jewishness.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, which is home to the Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery, felt like the perfect venue for such a show, but there was an additional reason why Gleckman wanted to exhibit at the Zack.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAfter Oct. 7, I wanted to do something that had meaning,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to share my pride in my Jewish identity. At the same time, I wanted to be part of the effort to help Israel, to make my own contribution. But I am an artist. I create art. I thought maybe my art could inspire someone to do something for Israel, to help in some way.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He approached the gallery with the idea of a show and offered to donate any proceeds from the sales of his paintings.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to donate whatever I get to two organizations: ASI-Canada (Association for the Soldiers of Israel), which supports active-duty IDF soldiers, and Magen David Adom, which is Israel\u2019s emergency response service. To promote the sales, I\u2019m also offering 30% discount off my website prices for all my paintings.\u201d \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The exhibit comprises 27 paintings from several of Gleckman\u2019s established series. \u201cFor this exhibition, I have included paintings that are accompanied by titles \u2026 for fuller comprehension,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe titles invite viewers to search for and reflect on the nuances of their own understanding of the selected stories, themes and ideas,\u201d the artist explained. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to dictate my own interpretations to viewers. Instead, with the titles, I try to nudge viewers in the right direction. The titles are sort of guidelines for understanding the images, their conceptual representation.\u201d<\/p>\n Most of the titles are in Hebrew, spelled phonetically in the English alphabet. Some are in English, but they represent Jewish customs and stories. For example, the large painting \u201cTikkun Olam\u201d is a field of life-affirming blue, while \u201cShiva\u201d is bleak and dark, a painting of grief and despair, but both will generate different feelings for everyone.<\/p>\n A few other paintings are linked to grief and death, but many sport bright colors, like \u201cAytz Chaim\u201d \u2013 blue and gold and triumphant \u2013 which proclaims the artist\u2019s vision of the Tree of Life. The painting, tall and narrow, is framed by golden words.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another tall and narrow painting, \u201cTefillah\u201d (a prayer), contains this one word in Hebrew, as well as 10 bright gold stars dancing on the blue background below, representing a minyan, the quorum of 10 men (in Orthodox Judaism) or people needed for Jewish communal prayers.<\/p>\n Another painting with words and colours woven together is \u201cYerushalayim.\u201d Its golden-brown palette is reminiscent of the ancient city of Jerusalem, its modernity and its millennia of history, including conflict.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Then there are calligraphed Hebrew letters, each magnified manifold on its own black and white canvas. \u201cTheir shapes are still recognizable,\u201d said Gleckman, \u201cbut I wanted to explore the possibilities, the situation where something we know becomes something else, something to investigate and find a new meaning.\u201d Each of these letter-paintings is like a road, curling capriciously according to the letter\u2019s design, leading the viewers towards the unknown.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Abstracted Identity runs until July 18. To learn more, visit the artist\u2019s website, briangleckman.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"image](\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/jun-28-VA.28.BrianGleckman_Yerushalayim.jpg\")
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