I’ve come to realize the vastness of the word “art” - its multitude of meanings and manifestations that characterize my day to day. For me, there is painting, printing, prose, cooking, clothing, coding, yet there are so many other worlds that I don’t even touch upon. The possibilities are truly limitless. 


I’ve been painting for a long time, always with a fixation on providing a window into life. I looked to the treatment of colour in Edward Hopper, the textures of Alice Neel and the object-centric compositions of Grayson Perry to inspire my own practice. Art was a tool to digest and reflect, to meditate upon how I perceived. Painting helped me think about the role I played in group environments, and the way in which I related to others. 


As I grew, and moved to an apartment off campus, I was able to further develop another key part of my identity and incorporate it into my art: my love of food. I used the skills I had learnt from working at The River Cafe, attending Le Cordon Bleu, and the Jewish traditions of my childhood to reinstate the meal as a sacred ritual - a tradition that is often usurped by the grab-and-go nature of university dining halls. My kitchen and my food acted as a vehicle through which to make new friends and connect with old ones, to host Rabbi’s and Professors and even their spouses. Cooking for others, or with others, fills me with such joy and love. The conversations I share at my table are not always lighthearted, but I truly believe that the shared experience of food’s flavors and textures opens people’s minds and hearts to fruitful and invigorating conversations. 


I turned to painting to digest these meals with rigor, and contemplate the discussions that came from them. This is how my latest painting fixation, and the resulting name of this exhibit, came to be: The Dinner Party. Lately, I have used paint to document and interpret the dinners I have shared with others; hoping to capture the light, the love, but also the confusion and chaos they have brought me. 


My art is far from perfect. I create for my own enjoyment - an act of self-love and self-care. With each piece I refine my ability to create the colors and textures I imagine, to encapsulate the faces that surround. It is truly a privilege to share my artistic journey with you all as it currently stands. Thank you for being here, for your support, and most importantly for coming to eat at my table - without you there would be no art.