Chani Cohen Zada

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Chani Cohen ZadaThe Place, 2016

Chani Cohen Zada, The Place

oil on linen mounted on wood
120 × 90 cm
47 × 35 in

About the Artwork

The Place presents a weathered rocking chair upon which rests a delicate lace cloth, while a simple garment hangs quietly above. The carefully arranged objects occupy an otherwise empty space, transforming an ordinary domestic setting into a place of quiet reflection. Through this restrained composition, Chani Cohen Zada explores the enduring relationship between memory, presence, and the sacred significance that certain places acquire through the lives once lived within them.

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The title immediately invites contemplation. In Jewish thought, HaMakom—"The Place"—is one of the names of Hashem, expressing the idea that the Divine is both present within the world and beyond it. At the same time, every person carries within the heart certain places that become sacred through memory, family, and lived experience. Cohen Zada allows the title to resonate on both levels without defining it too narrowly.

The empty rocking chair serves as the emotional center of the composition. Throughout the artist's work, chairs often suggest presence through absence, recalling the people who once occupied them and the lives they quietly shaped. Here, the chair appears prepared rather than abandoned, inviting viewers to imagine the unseen individual whose presence still lingers within the room.

The garment suspended above the chair and the finely woven lace draped across its back deepen this atmosphere of remembrance. These familiar household textiles speak not through symbolism alone but through their quiet material presence. They retain the memory of touch, use, and daily life, suggesting that the ordinary objects surrounding us often become the keepers of our most cherished memories.

The restrained palette and uncluttered setting direct the viewer's attention to form, texture, and light. As throughout Cohen Zada's work, meaning emerges through careful observation rather than elaborate narrative. The painting demonstrates how a simple arrangement of familiar objects can become deeply contemplative when viewed with patience and attentiveness.

The Place ultimately reminds us that holiness is often encountered not only in famous sanctuaries but within the ordinary places where life unfolds. Through memory, love, prayer, and faithful living, even the simplest room may become a place of enduring significance.

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

₪ 33,250

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