AGJA Blog
Shoshannah Brombacher
Art makes the world within the artist visible.
Classical music, poetry, Jewish and Chassidic stories, traveling, the love for people and memories of eras gone but not forgotten, cities where I lived and worked, like Amsterdam, Berlin, Jerusalem, New York, or visited like Prague and Sicily, are the main ingredients of my art.
My art is like the water of the canals of my native Amsterdam, Rembrandts city, the deeper you look into it, the more you see. A reflection of a reflection of a reflection…look, what you see is not what you see.
My art contains texts and letters, lets writing come alive, and reflects my deep connection with the Dutch 17th century Masters, German expressionism, Russian art and medieval miniatures.
My art is also a tribute to music and the world of the great Chassidic masters of Eastern Europe. The Kotzker Rebbe listened to a Chassidic storyteller in the street and stated:
He told what he wanted and I heard what I needed.
That is Art.
THE YELLOW RIDER – A SUKKAH IN BERLIN
Last summer (2024), I decorated the left wall of a sukkah in Berlin. It was completed just in time before Sukkot started. This summer, I painted the right wall of that same sukkah. The thick canvas, which has been treated against moisture, measures about 4x2 m (157.5 x79 inches). The medium is oil pastel.
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The Ushpizin and Ushpizot in Berlin
During the month of September, I was house-sitting for dear old friends of mine and taking care of their animals and plants while they were traveling. They have a big garden. That was a pleasure, because it was very hot in Berlin. There is a beautiful freestanding pergola with a table and two long benches. My friends and I agreed already last year that it would make a beautiful sukkah and that a tarp between the corner poles would make a great canvas for an artist.
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The Verse of a Name. The passuk of Avraham Leib.
There is an old Jewish custom to teach a little child the “verse of their name” at an early age. This is a passuk, a verse from Tenakh, that begins and ends with the same letter as his or her name does. The underlying thought is the following. After a person dies, the soul is accompanied by angels to the heavenly court.
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