In December 2012 – January 2013, I visited Jerusalem for the fourth time, with a kind of “unofficial visit”. My first time there was January 2010 (when I was working on paintings and drawings), the second – February 2011 (preparing drawings for a joint project with the poet Michael Corol – the book “Jerusalem ABC’s”). My third visit in Jerusalem was in April 2012, organizing the project “Jerusalem Plein-air”, with the participation of Leonid Zeiger, Anatoly Basin, Olga Kundina, Tania Sergeeva and Tutu Kiladze.

Since I am like the Chukcha (Russian name for Eskimo) from the old joke – “I am singing what I see on my way” – my paintings and drawings deal with the sights I see around me. This time it is the merchants, specifically the Arab and Jewish stalls of the Old City, the Mea-Shearim district and the Mahane-Yehuda market. The “Art-in-Process” site has kindly offered me to publish my new works – which I do with pleasure!

P.S. All the paintings are from Dani & Rita Licht’s collection (Jerusalem).

Alexander Florensky
January 2013, Jerusalem