February 18th-March 18th Israeli artist Ronit Joy Holtz has a solo exhibition for Women’s History Month at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee.
The work is predominantly around grief, loss, and the aftermath of the October 7th massacre. She lost many friends; 18% of the proceeds will be donated to the Hersh-Goldberg Memorial Fund (a friend of hers) and to Bring Them Home Now, Hostage & Missing Family Forum.
Artist Statement:
Through my artwork in this exhibition, “Jars in Heaven,” I seek to illuminate the experiences of trauma to
provide a space of healing, intention, and light. The artwork speaks to comfort those who mourn, painting a
path that we all have or will experience: the loss of family and friends and how to commemorate the light
ahead. Through many mediums, like candle wax and Judeo-Christian symbolism, I share my personal grief
story of how I lost my father and the collective grief of loss since the October 7th massacre in Israel.
On the morning of October 7th, 2023, life changed drastically. Within a few long hours, I was flooded with
horror as countless friends were announced murdered, missing, and kidnapped. As the devastation unraveled,
I started a painting in my backyard, “A candle lit forever, for you.” I felt immense darkness and only knew one
way to combat it- through a commemorative painting. Soon after, hundreds of people asked me to light a
candle for them in solidarity. “A candle lit forever, for you,” is for our Angels, for the friends we lost, for the brave
men and women who laid down their lives protecting us, and for those who are healing from trauma or still in
the midst of it.
Although I still don’t have the answers to:
Why does grief happen?
How come grief happens in specific ways?
& when can we meet our angels again– I will most likely spend the rest of my life on this journey. The journey
of finding my father, my friends, and all my angels in the flowers, the rain, the butterflies, the grasshoppers, and
the ever-changing landscape up ahead. “Jars in Heaven” is dedicated to the ones we love and to the ones we
miss. I know that not a single tear on earth goes unaccounted for. So for now, my dear angels, a light will
permanently be sealed in wax for you until I reach heaven and walk through my room of tear-filled jars.
About Ronit:
Ronit Joy Holtz (b. 1997, United States) traveled throughout North America and numerous European countries before moving with her family to Kadima, Israel when she was ten. She later received a B.F.A in painting with academic honors at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Ronit resides in Tel Aviv as a studio artist and art educator. Her past artwork has been featured in galleries and private collections in the United States, France, Switzerland, England, and Israel. She has exhibited internationally and has had several solo exhibitions, including one held at the 3rd oldest synagogue in the United States. Ronit’s recent studio work is about healing through trauma, loss, and grief. In the studio, she explores ways to tap back into pain and trauma and cope with it creatively using mixed media and found objects infused with nostalgia and personal sentiment.
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