Watercolour Landscapes

Yehudayan has been painting diverse landscapes of Israel for the last 50 years, always in search of the most authentic representation. In his watercolors he seeks those lyrical forms most resonant of particular landscapes; the various transparencies of color and different qualities of stone clearly mark the distinctiveness of each location within its native habit. With love and awe, Yehudayan observes, contemplates, chooses – and with unending patience, honesty and restraint succeeds in transmitting the dramatic beauty of these landscapes, letting their dignity speak for themselves, uncluttered by superfluous interpretation. Yehudayan is challenged by – and moved to confront – every component of their identity. (Hannah Aschheim – Curator)

At the beginning of the 21st century, watercolors paintings may strike one as somewhat anachronistic, naïve. Yet, although Yehudayan’s work may be defined in such realistic terms, it nevertheless possesses a freshness and sophistication that is not immediately discernible to the uneducated eye.
Yehudayan has been painting diverse landscapes of Israel for the last 50 years, always in search of the most authentic representation. In his watercolors he seeks those lyrical forms most resonant of particular landscapes – for instance, the harsh, enduring Jerusalem stone, which its eternity merges with the stark clarity of his realistic art. Although the different locations he depicts possess architectural similarities and characteristics, the various transparencies of color and different qualities of stone clearly mark the distinctiveness of each location within its native habit.
With love and awe, Yehudayan hastens to capture various scenes so that in some way he will be able to stem the flow of time. He observes, contemplates, chooses – and with unending patience, honesty and restraint succeeds in transmitting the dramatic beauty of these landscapes, letting their dignity speak for themselves, uncluttered by superfluous interpretation.
Yehudayan expresses a sense of almost blunt local realism in the tradition of the old masters of watercolor, deliberately unstylized, unencumbered by fantasies, propaganda or illusions and characterized always by a forthright honesty. Time and place are his fundamental referents. Color is crucial in forming the rhythm of the painting and unveiling its secrets. Yehudayan accepts, indeed submits to, the force and integrity of his subject matter, bowing to the scenes as they are, never eliminating disturbing factors, and in the process almost sacrificing his own artistic freedom.
Yehudayan is not the accidental tourist in search of instant appropriation of ephemeral places, rather he is challenged by – and moved to confront – every component of their identity. He is constantly sensitive to the insight that the particular identity of place, its eternity, is a reminder of the transience of human existence. In his art there is a voyeuristic dimension found in still-life paintings – the momentary mortal glimpse of what will remain when the viewer is no longer there.
The artist is no political, ideological or religious visionary, even though the objects of his painting have traditionally been saturated by these impulses. It is this that gives his apparently naïve vision its sophisticated and fresh edge. He is an intensely personal painter. The temporality of the artist and the pain of departure pervade all his work and provide it with a rare authenticity that is his hallmark.
Yehudayan has participated in 32 solo exhibitions and in 23 group showings. His work can be found in various private collections and museums in Israel and throughout the world.

Hannah Aschheim. January 2007