Judaica/ With These Hands
Viviana Lombrozo’s work explores rituals of Jewish domestic and liturgical spaces. Incorporating actual ritual objects in or near her mixed-media paintings—represented here by a pair of Shabbat candle sticks and a Torah pointer—Lombrozo asks the viewer to connect with the gestures of the body during prayer and study. For Lombrozo, these gestures are related to the somatic manifestations of the artistic process.
Lombrozo’s paintings are expressions of her commitment to Tikkun Olam: the reparation of the world. Lombrozo sees her work as a means of focusing awareness on Jewish spiritual concepts that give daily life greater significance and import. In Dialogue (2003), Lombrozo suspends a Torah pointer next to an image of a hand making a subtle pointing gesture. The yad shifts the image of the pointing hand into the realm of religious observance, suggesting connections between the most simple physical actions and the reading of Torah.
In Sanctifying Time (2002), Lombrozo’s luminous use of color evokes ancient landscapes and cities. The negative shapes of two Shabbat candlesticks—that rest upon a shelf near the painting—stand out within the image like ghosts. Lombrozo collages letterforms and imagery of sacred Jewish texts onto the surfaces of her paintings. Text, object and imagery intermix, creating complex visions of shared meaning and thoughtful observance.
Stephanie Snyder
San Francisco, CA
2003
