The Power of the Hebrew Alphabet

Gloria's Glorious Galleys: Award-winning international artist (and, Abq Jew is proud to say, friend) Gloria Abella Ballen will present her most recent work, an exhibition of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet, on Sunday, February 9, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm, at Waxlander Gallery, 622 Canyon Road, Santa Fe.

Gloria Abella Ballen

Works on the Hebrew Alphabet

Waxlander Gallery

622 Canyon Road, Santa Fe

Sunday, February 9, 2014

2:00 ~ 5:00 pm

In this new work, Ms Abella Ballen has fused mysticism, art, and spiritual traditions, as she leads the viewer through the twenty-two letters that changed the world. With these letters were recorded the lives of Abraham and Moses, the history of David and his songs, and the wisdom and poetry of Solomon.

These chromatically rich images draw from kaballistic, mystical traditions.

Ms Abella Ballen will also present her book on the same subject, entitled The Power of the Hebrew Alphabet.

She has studied the Hebrew aleph bet for years, doing research on the Jewish illuminated manuscripts at the British Museum and the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.

And she has studied the Zohar and contemporary works such as The Alphabet of Creation by Ben Shahn and The Book of Letters by Lawrence Kushner.

Here is what others are saying about the book:

• Dr. Tamar Frankiel, President of the Academy for Jewish Religion in Los Angeles and author The Gift of Kabbalah among other titles, describes this book as “artistic genius” that is a “mystical quest…tamed by a deep caring for meaning and tradition.”
• Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, author of A Hidden Light and a library of books on Jewish life, calls this a “glorious book” that brings the “enlightenment and wisdom” of the Hebrew letters.
• Rabbi Berel Levertov said, “Just got the book and couldn’t put it down! This is an awesome book full of quality art and amazing tidbits about each letter of the Hebrew aleph bet!”

Here is what Abq Jew says about the book: 

A visually stunning publication that colorfully and powerfully melds intellectual contemplation with kabbalistic yearning.
An insightful, deeply meaningful work of thought and art.

Ms Abella Ballen has exhibited from Christie’s in London to Louis Stern in Los Angeles, from the Carrillo Gil Museum in Mexico City to the Bellevue Art Museum in Seattle.

She has been visiting lecturer on Jewish art, Jewish illuminated manuscripts, and her own work in museum and university programs across the United States and internationally from the University of Essex and the Camberwell School of Art in the U.K. to the Mishkan Omanim in Herzliya, Israel and University of Xinjiang in China among others.

In addition to her graduate degree in art from SUNY-Buffalo, she did specialized work with Larry Rivers and John Cage. Abella Ballen lives in Santa Fe.

For further information on the exhibition call Bonnie French at the Waxlander Gallery, (505) 984-2202.