Sam Israël in his studio

photo: Michael Broekmeulen, 2001

Painting is a way of bringing to life again all that has been stored inside me: years ago, but also yesterday, and even what I receive each new moment as I paint: information which my senses may want, or may wish to reject. This is a situation asking for a response, a reaction, one that can make the imprints conscious by giving them a material form. This is a form of remembering which at the same time changes the quality of everything that has been occurring to me. In the transformation, I also give it back to the outside world.

Painting is like the creation of a second skin, the secretion of my mind, my body, my thoughts and my feelings which need a tangible form in order to come to life.This second skin lies on, or creates, the border between the inside and the outside world. It has a spaciousness that real skin, inextricably connected, limited to the contours of the body, lacks. But like the bodily skin it is a house in which I live.

As second skins, the paintings hang on the walls of my studio or in a gallery. This is the basis for the communication between the visual artist and the outside world. The images may be wordless, but by evoking emotions, associations, thoughts, they can make references to language, crossing into and contributing to a dialogue with the viewer.

© Sam Israël.