Alef Bet

Alef Bet by Jen Seron

What are these?

Each of the 22 paintings in this series of oil paintings represents a single Hebrew Letter that is hidden in plain sight somewhere within the painting. Shown above from top left to bottom right are Alef, Gimel, Dalet, Mem, Ayin, Peh, Resh and Tav. The paintings were completed from 1996 to 1997. The twenty-two letters are 22"x18", Alef through Tav, except one. Bet only is 18"x22". All paintings are mostly hand-painted (brushes only for tiny strokes) in oil (including R&F handmade oil pigment sticks) on primed, sealed Masonite and wood.

Color is used to communicate Kabbalistic and esoteric relationships among these 22 paths on the Tree of Life. The series has been exhibited in a solo exhibition at the Suffolk YMHA on Long Island, NY, during which an artist talk on the Hebrew Alef Bet was presented to an eager audience. This series is available for traveling exhibition and/or purchase in its entirety. Please contact me at jen@jenseron.com

Why do they exist?

Having long been interested in symbolism and esoteric aspects of diverse religions, the Hebrew Alef Bet are close to my heart. This series was inspired by stories by early Talmudic Kabbalists and Kabbalistic scholars from the middle ages.

Exhibit series or get prints

If you want to exhibit the series, let me know! If you want a print, contact me at jen@jenseron.com

About Jen Seron's Visual Vocabulary of Kabbalah

I have my own visual vocabulary of Kabbalah. I developed it in 1996 when working on my MFA in Illustration (Visual Essay/Visual Communication) at School of Visual Arts in New York City. I developed a specific color for each of the 22 Hebrew letters and 10 Sefirot (numbered emanations). Over the years my interpretation has changed as I've learned more.

This is my current framework. I've used in in my Alef Bet, Evolution, Lamed Vav Tzaddikim, Bargello Needlepoint series and others.

I enjoy applying what I learn in new ways.

Additional Info: As you might understand, the precession of the equinoxes means that over millennia the zodiac sign rising at the spring equinox has shifted from Aries to Pisces and we are now nearing the end of Pisces. That song about the "Age of Aquarius" recognized that Aquarius is the next zodiac sign that will rise at the spring equinox. Right now if you are a purist, the zodiac signs have shifted and are actually more than a month off because Aries the ram/ewe gave way to Pisces the fishes more than 2,000 years ago (secondary source, primary source and related and incredibly tangentially related). Before Aries was Taurus the bull/cow, etc.

I've overlaid my Kabbalistic language of color onto the zodiac signs and although I have Aries (vav) and Pisces (kuf) at the top of the Tree of Life, Aquarius (tzaddi) is getting ready to move up and take the place of Aries this century, with concerted effort by all well-meaning people everywhere.