writings

A little known component of Ben-Zion’s work is his poetry; it is at once a “branch of the same tree” from which his paintings, drawings, and sculpture are conceived, and a root in the very foundation from which that tree was able to grow.  He continued to write even when painting and sculpture comprised his main works — words themselves becoming personified, and seeking “to come out as an exclamation for the first time… brought back to their original values… as they were born”. Ben-Zion’s written work evokes the same natural, primeval meaning and potency as his visual work — both marked by the artist’s inborn ability to see rather than look. He articulates the essence of these visions in a manner which is simple and unclouded, offering a universal insight into the light through which the artist experienced the world.