In a time when words may fail to express one’s grief and horror, Nelson has turned to color, lines, and shapes to express the enormity of this moment in history. The intensity on the canvas mirrors the intense feelings she is having about her Jewish identity during a fraught and complicated political moment.

“. . . the work expresses the raw emotion and grief I experience over the killing of thousands of innocent Israelis and Palestinians . . .Without explicitness, the abstract compositions manifest a sorrow over the horrors of extreme physical violence, psychological wounds, and profound loss of those suffering from this war. At the same time, it is my intention that the work communicates a sense of hope and healing for our world.” —Irene Nelson