ORA NISSIM
WORLD OF COLOR. MODERN JUDAICA
Ora Nissim is an Avant-garde autodidact Judaica artist viewed as one of the finest creative talents to emerge from Israel. Her reputation is renowned both home and abroad, having sold work in North America, Europe, and her native Israel, including prestigious organizations such as the Walldorf Astoria in Jerusalem.
The nature of Nissim’s childhood and the images of the Hasidim are motifs that recur in her paintings. It is very important for her that the artworks ‘speak’ about the nature of her life.
“I convey a message and tell a story through color stains and courage to reveal what is inside me through the work”
Growing up in Mea Shearim, Nissim’s art reflects on the religious duality of her past and current lifestyles.
Her work often revolves around the contrast between the monochrome, conservative Judaism she grew up with, and “the multicolored experience”, of the many forms in which Judaism is manifested today.
The many colors found on her canvases are, to her, the variety of residents, which make up the population of current-time Jerusalem.
Ora Nissim on Art Market Magazine
“I choose to paint an open, progressive Judaism full of colors and spiritual wealth, which has a place of acceptance and peaceful life for everyone.
Like us – we are diverse and varied from different cultures, but we are all connected and create together the whole picture of the Jewish people.
My Jerusalem is colorful and mesmerizing with textures. There is room for different cultures to contrast light and shade, but at the same time hope for redemption and peace. And a place for everyone as a city that was united together.”
Her work is a blend a blend of Judaica and contemporary Jewish art, which is an abstract expressionist in nature, reflecting her own beliefs surrounding life and Judaism. Much like her work, Nissam’s religion is multifaceted, giving a new depth and meaning behind the contrasting use of color and texture featured throughout her work.
This is no mistake, with the diverse use of color and textures reflecting the different aspects of Judaism she has encountered during her life.
Ora Nissim_Jerusalem of Light. Oil on canvas. 170×70 cm.
A dream about Jerusalem.
Oil on canvas. 90×81 cm.
