arielpenzer(@arielpenzer) instagram tagged download

I feel so lucky and thankful! Thank you, Ariel Penzer and Erika Rodriguez, for your invitation to be part of the Bloomstead Residency family. It was such a meaningful experience. Thanks to The Jewish Museum of Florida for letting my show be the first of many in the museum's new chapter! Thanks to my artists friends and to all the beautiful people who participate in the workshops. Thanks to all my childhood friends and community that like me had to leave our beautiful Venezuela. I'm so happy and lucky to have shared my art with you. Waiting to meet again 🌸🌸

@bloomsteadfarmresidency
@arielpenzer @erikavalentina @jmof_fl @ali.shrago.spechler @hrl1963 @saralipman
@miamibeachgarden @irenepressnerart @merycarbunaru @yapelis @perlasananes @marlenyrosemberg @tamikatz @michelleazoutartadvisory

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“I can barely function.”

That sentence came from an application to The 8 Project’s residency program.

Trauma follows people home. It changes daily life, relationships, and what their families carry alongside them. Rebuilding takes time, professional support, structure, and people who keep showing up.

Five veterans are coming to our residency. For 1–3 months, each will have a place to live, therapeutic support, mentorship, creative work, and a daily routine built around their needs.

The cost is $15,000 per veteran. We need your help to provide that support.

Donate today. Link below and in bio.

If you can’t give right now, please share this post with someone who can.

$October 7. Three years later. I painted this work in 2023–24, trying to make sense of a world approaching a precipice. Acrylic, oil and torn cloth on canvas, 60” x 70”. Severed trees. Fire. Hands desperately grasping at a pile of stones. Lives cut short. Homes destroyed. The fragile ground beneath our feet. So much of my work is rooted in the history of the wandering Jew, the perpetual nomad, condemned to build, leave, rebuild, and leave again. I see myself in that history. My ancestors carried it across continents. I carry it into my work. For three years, I have listened to countless hours of conversations ( podcasts) in my studio, trying to understand what happened, why, and what comes next. I have more questions than answers. On October 7, I speak about our history, our fears, our vulnerability. The devastation and loss inflicted in retaliation are immense and horrific. Both realities exist. Acknowledging our pain does not erase anyone else’s. There is another war being fought: the war over narrative. Who tells the story? Whose suffering is seen? Who controls the story, and who does it serve? This painting belongs to a larger body of work confronting the apocalyptic destruction of life on Earth at the hands of humanity. I struggle to comprehend both October 7 and the world that unfolded on October 8. The shockwaves have crossed borders, fractured beliefs, and altered the course of lives and history. Three years later, we are still living with the consequences. The story is…far, far from over. • • • #womenpainters #jewishhistory #october7 #landscapepaintingnow #deborahwasserman$

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