Raphael Abecassis

Raphael Abecassis is a world-renowned Sepharadi-Israeli artist whose unique style combines Jewish symbols, Sephardic motifs and modern composition into beautiful celebrations of color.

Beginnings

Abecassis was born in Morocco and immigrated to Israel with his family at age 3. He began to study art at age 21, though he had never studied – or even painted – prior to that event. From that time, Abecassis hasn't stopped painting. He continues to evolve as he fuses his vision of the painting styles of Jewish masters of past centuries with 21st century style and composition.

Abecassis prefers to concentrate on biblically-inspired art. He employs themes of Jewish mysticism and imbues his artwork with deep spiritual meanings which he expresses with colorful, vibrant imagery. Abecassis kebubot – Jewish marriage contacts – which he decorates in exquisite detail, are well-known.

Style

Abecassis employs an unorthodox painting style that connects him, as the storyteller or lead actor, to the painting process and its story. In fact, the name Abecassis derives from the Arabic "Abu" – elder – and "cassis" – storyteller. He uses a "Decoupage" painting technique in which he lifts layers to transform a conventional painting into a three-dimensional creation. As he works, he cuts the layers of the painting and separates them manually. The story unfolds as he plays with the layers, creating a sense of dimension and perspective. Abecassis receives his artistic inspiration as he paints and creates. Thousands of images from the world of Kabbalah pass through his mind at any one time, and then he organizes the images as vignettes of stories.

Contact

Abecassis lives in Netanya but maintains a home in Tzfat. His Tzfat gallery is located in the Fig Tree Gallery at Alkabetz 18 in the Old Jewish Quarter. He can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 04-6974449. CONTENT