Tzimtzum

Original painting · 20″ × 20″ · Oil on canvas with raised Mem

Private collection.

 

Tzimtzum depicts the mystical contraction of divine light that makes space for creation. The radiant letter מ (Mem) rests in a cratered burst of light and form.

 

The painting speaks of divine humility, sacred emptiness, and the paradox that space, even absence, can be holy.

 

Sources

“Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” — Genesis 1:2

The Infinite light contracted itself to leave an empty space in which the worlds could be created. — The teaching of the Arizal, Etz Chaim (concept)

 

Would you like a painting like this, made for you? Every commission begins with a chevruta, a study session with the artist.