The Jerusalem air of the month of Shevat penetrates beneath the skin and evokes memories of winters of old‭. ‬The trees stand bare‭, ‬the winds echo distant and near storms‭, ‬and the sun sets too early‭, ‬leaving the city in a soft and cold light‭.‬

In a season when everything seems exposed and fragile‭, ‬processes are taking place beneath the surface that are hidden from view‭.‬‭ ‬The roots in the ground go deep‭, ‬the sap flows through the trees‭, ‬carrying with it a healing power‭ - ‬protecting against vulnerability and nourishing the next growth‭. ‬Do similar processes of resilience and renewal also take place in the human soul‭, ‬beneath‭ ‬the surface‭, ‬even when everything is turbulent on the outside‭? ‬Do hidden layers lie deep within the reality revealed to us‭, ‬affecting us without us noticing and containing the seeds of the future‭?‬

The French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty‭ (1908-1961) argued that the world is not perceived by us objectively or completely‭.‬‭ ‬There is always another‭, ‬hidden layer that escapes the eye‭ - ‬and our knowledge of it is partial‭, ‬forming anew at every moment‭.‬

Art‭, ‬according to Merleau-Ponty‭, ‬is a bridge between the visible and the hidden‭. ‬It allows the mystery of reality to be revealed‭ ‬little by little‭, ‬through matter and form‭. ‬An artistic act‭ - ‬whether it is painting‭, ‬sculpture or photography‭ - ‬is a process in‭ ‬which the spirit is embodied through the real‭, ‬and the visible opens up to what is beyond it‭.‬

The works of the artists of the Mary Gallery intertwine these‭ "‬folds hidden from the eye‭." ‬The works sometimes depict a familiar‭ ‬and everyday reality but invite the viewer to dwell on points that the eye is accustomed to overlooking‭. ‬Fragile moments in time that may escape consciousness are frozen in the works‭ - ‬and thus new layers of meaning are revealed to our eyes‭.‬

Some of the artists in the gallery strip reality of its familiar forms and return to the geometric basis that makes up the space‭ ‬around us‭. ‬Others examine the gap between what is visible and what is happening deep within the soul‭, ‬in a constant echo of inside and outside‭. ‬Just as the artist Paul Cézanne‭ (‬1839-1906) ‬said‭: ‬“Nature is inside‭. ‬Light‭, ‬color‭, ‬depth‭ - ‬they are there before us only because they evoke an inner echo in our bodies‭, ‬only because our bodies meet them and receive them‭.‬”

Between the visible and hidden folds‭, ‬art becomes a language that touches on what is beyond words‭. ‬It expresses what is visible‭,‬‭ ‬but also what is happening below the surface‭ - ‬where the roots deepen and the sap flows‭, ‬promising the healing and growth to come‭.‬

Hillie Wurtman Moyal‭ | ‬January 2025