Zoya Cherkassky

Good artists are keen observers of current events, using art to capture emotions and provoke thought, sometimes even changing history. I alluded to A Prayer for the French Republic earlier, a play that sent me reeling (evidence is this post); since it is closing shortly, I want to point out another art exhibit that had a similar effect and is closing shortly...Zoya Cherkassky's October 7th, 2023 at the Jewish Museum. I had the opportunity to meet Zoya and see a documentary about her life and career. She emigrated from Kyiv to Tel Aviv as a teenager, where she married an African immigrant, started a family, and became a working artist...the ultimate outsider. Previously, she has been critical of the Israeli government, painted about the poor treatment of Palestinians, and did a series about the invasion of her former home, Ukraine, by Russia. However, the events of October 7th compelled her to draw, and the results are poignant, haunting, and severe. Since October 7th, I have been obsessed with consuming all types of information to understand what happened and its aftermath. I have gone to rallies, watched the news, attended lectures, seen documentaries, talked to friends, and mindlessly scrolled on social media until I couldn't scroll anymore. However, her drawings touched me in a way these other activities couldn't. 

I have also ordered a limited edition print set of these, which you can acquire from her American dealer, Adam Shopkorn, at Fort Gansevoort.