Chani Cohen Zada

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Chani Cohen ZadaAlchemy, 2017

Chani Cohen Zada, Alchemy

oil on panel
40 × 60 cm
16 × 24 in

About the Artwork

Alchemy transforms a simple arrangement of everyday objects into a meditation on change, perception, and hidden potential. A wooden rocking chair rests beside a collection of stones, each rendered with careful attention and quiet dignity. The title invites viewers to look beyond the ordinary and consider the mysterious process through which common materials—and common experiences—can be transformed into something precious. Through observation and contemplation, the familiar becomes extraordinary.

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Historically, alchemy referred to the pursuit of transforming base metals into gold. Yet beyond its material ambitions, alchemy became a symbol of inner transformation—the process by which ordinary experience is refined into wisdom, insight, and spiritual growth. Cohen Zada's painting embraces this broader understanding of alchemy, finding wonder not in exotic substances but in the humble objects that surround us.

The composition is intentionally restrained. The rocking chair carries associations of memory, comfort, family, and the passage of time. The stones, gathered together on the ground, appear unremarkable at first glance. Yet through the artist's attentive observation, each object acquires a presence that exceeds its practical function. The viewer is encouraged to slow down and encounter the world with renewed attention.

This transformation through perception lies at the heart of Cohen Zada's artistic philosophy. By setting aside preconceived meanings and focusing on the material reality of things, the artist discovers beauty hidden within the ordinary. The stones become more than stones; the chair becomes more than furniture. Together they form a quiet dialogue between permanence and change, weight and movement, stillness and memory.

Alchemy ultimately suggests that transformation is not always dramatic. Sometimes it occurs through careful looking, patient reflection, and a willingness to recognize the extraordinary within the everyday. In this sense, the painting itself becomes an act of alchemy, turning ordinary objects into vessels of meaning and contemplation.

About the Artist — Chani Cohen Zada

One of the main obstacles that a novice painter encounters when he comes to paint from observation is a conceptual conflict. This is because everything is actually made up of two things: meaning, and substance. The mind, refers to the word through its meaning for us, and not through its materiality. And therefore the painter gives an iconic interpretation of what he sees, which is not compatible with reality. It takes a lot of hours of training to teach the brain to separate these two things and pass on to the painter the relevant information for the painting, which is the material interpretation only

₪ 21,000

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