Many religions and philosophical tenets of both Eastern and Western cultures throughout time are concerned with common questions: What is life? Why are we humans here? What is the purpose of life? How does everything link together? Elperin\u2019s art contemplates possibilities, and the show\u2019s name, Cycles of Being, underscores the cyclical nature of our unending chain of existence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The paintings in this exhibit are three-dimensional, a fusion of paint and sculpture, golden leaf and marine plants. Paper, wood, metal and fabric combine and emerge as more than a sum of their parts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The images tell stories, convey legends. They inspire questions and personal responses. Every title card in the gallery is a mini story, and the abstract artistic style suits the complexity of the philosophical exploration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n No reflection of the outside world manifests. No photographic likeness. Just meditations on the timeless themes of life, death and rebirth, which lead to further associations on the part of viewers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The first painting that meets our eyes upon coming into the gallery is \u201cPhase One\u201d \u2013 a golden spread on the dark background. Does it reflect evolutionary theory or the world\u2019s divine beginnings? One will interpret it according to one\u2019s own beliefs.<\/p>\n \u201cBeginning of Endless Knot\u201d continues the viewer\u2019s journey, with its contrast of blue and gold, a simple circle versus a complex knot. In Buddhism, the endless knot represents, among other things, interconnectedness.<\/p>\n \u201cImpermanence\u201d reminds us that everything in the world is ephemeral. The red twisted shape, sinuous and enigmatic, teases with its perpetual dance. To me, it defies definition and implies that everything around us, physical and mental, is transient \u2013 the only constant is change.<\/p>\n On the opposite wall, the painting \u201cWu Zetian Dream\u201d is a symphony in blue, a tribute to the only female ruler of China, Wu Zetian (624-705). During her reign, China became one of the greatest powers of the world. Many historians consider her the force that revitalized the Chinese culture and economy.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Many paintings in the exhibition include a circle as one of their main elements. The exhibit title piece, \u201cCycles of Being,\u201d refers to the Buddhist idea that existence is an eternal sequence of birth, growth, transformation and renewal, that life and death are not linear, and that all living creatures are linked. This concept is represented by a mandala, a circular image of the universe.<\/p>\n Other images involving a circle are those of the five elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water. The artist\u2019s visualization of them incorporates what could be called the traditional colours and energies of those elements (blue for water, red for fire, for example), but go beyond literal meaning. Again, all is connected, there are no beginnings and no ends.<\/p>\n Readers can meet Elperin on Nov. 26, 3-5 p.m., at the gallery. The exhibit runs until Dec. 4. To learn more, visit lipontgallery.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"photos](\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/nov-21-VA.21.Elperin-artworks-only.jpg\")
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