The stories behind the expressive Raphael flower paintings (1997) Painting by Raphael Perez

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Sold by Raphael Perez

  • Original Artwork (One Of A Kind) Painting, Oil on Canvas
  • Dimensions Height 47.2in, Width 31.5in
  • Artwork's condition The artwork is in very good condition
  • Framing This artwork is not framed
  • Categories Expressionism Flower
Raphael Perez, also known as Rafi Peretz, is an Israeli painter who explores his personal and sexual identity through his flower paintings. He created a series of flower paintings from 1995 to 1998, when he was in his early thirties and still in relationships with women, despite feeling gay. His flower paintings reflect his emotional turmoil[...]
Raphael Perez, also known as Rafi Peretz, is an Israeli painter who
explores his personal and sexual identity through his flower paintings. He created a series of flower paintings from 1995 to 1998, when he was in his early thirties and still in relationships with women, despite feeling gay. His flower paintings reflect his emotional turmoil and his struggle with his sexual orientation. He painted two flowers, one blooming and one wilting, to represent the contrast and conflict between his heterosexual relationships and his true self. He also painted single flowers or two flowers in their prime, to express his longing for a harmonious relationship that matches his nature. He chose sunflowers, white lilies, and red lilies as symbols of expression, purity, and joy, respectively. He painted from real flowers, using different styles and light to create drama and mood. Perez’s paintings of the flower couples are minimalist and focused on the theme of the complex relationship. He omitted any background or context, leaving only the canvas and the drawing of the flower couples. In some of the paintings, he added a very airy abstract surface with thin oil paints that give an atmosphere of watercolors. He also made drawings of flowers in ink, markers and gouache on paper. Later on, he created large acrylic paintings of flowers and still life. Perez’s flower paintings are not mere illustrations or decorations. They are autobiographical and psychological expressions of his inner state and his struggle with his sexuality. He wanted to reveal his loneliness, distress and concealment through these paintings, and to connect with people who are in a similar situation. He deliberately chose only two flowers and no more to intensify the engagement in the charged and complex relationship. Perez also painted and drew couples of men and women with charged psychological states, as well as states of desire for connection and realization of a heterosexual relationship that did not succeed. He used hyperrealism and expressive styles to convey his frozen and calculated state, as well as his mental stress. He used harsh lighting to create contrast and drama, with one side very bright and the other side darker. Perez was influenced by some of the famous artists who painted flowers, such as Van Gogh, who also used sunflowers as a symbol of expression. He also used white lilies and red lilies to convey freshness, cleanliness, purity, color, joy, movement, eruption, and splendor. Perez also painted some single flowers or two flowers in their prime, to show his aspiration for a future where he will have a harmonious relationship. Today, he is 58 years old and in a happy relationship for 10 years with his partner Assaf Henigsberg. He is surrounded by female friends and soulmates and not conflicted with heterosexual relationships as he used to be. He occasionally paints flowers in pots to symbolize home, stability, and peace. Sometimes I paint flowers in pots, which represent home, stability, and solid ground for me. I don’t paint just a couple of flowers, but pots full of flowers that overflow with life. This means that we also have a supportive network of family, friends, and peers around us. We live in a rich, supportive, and protective world. These paintings are a personification of my psychological state, when I had no words to express my feelings to myself. The painting began In 35 years of my creation (starting in 1998), you can read more about how my art and style evolved over time. Perez’s flower paintings are a unique and extraordinary artistic creation that reveals his personal journey and his sexual identity. His work is honest, expressive, and emotional, as well as beautiful and vibrant.
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Raphael perez Hebrew name rafi peretz was born into a traditional family and grew up in Jerusalem.  Family biography Raphael Perez father, Shimon Perez, worked as a receptionist at Hadassah Ein Kerem[...]

Raphael perez Hebrew name rafi peretz was born into a traditional family and grew up in Jerusalem.

 Family biography Raphael Perez father, Shimon Perez, worked as a receptionist at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. His great love was art, but as a breadwinner, he could not fulfill his dream of becoming an artist. Raphael’s mother,  Alice Aliza Perez, worked as an assistant to a kindergarten teacher and later took care of a baby at home. She loved gardening and nature, and together with her husband, created a magnificent garden.

Raphael has several siblings. His elder brother David Perez repented in his mid-twenties and brought many people back to repentance. His sister Hana Peretz raised eight children and worked in the field of education. His brother Avi (Abraham) Peretz studied Philosophy and Judaism in Israel before moving to the United States where he completed his master’s degree in education and became a conservative rabbi. His fourth brother is Asher Peretz, who is very fond of traveling and has been to magical places all over the world. Raphael is the fifth sibling and has a twin brother named Miki (Michael) Peretz, who is a talented industrial designer. The youngest sibling is Shlomit Peretz, who has been involved in the Bezeq telephone company for almost three decades.

 Peretz). In the IDF, he served in the Artillery Corps. He worked for 15 years in education in therapeutic settings for children and taught art and movement.
Peretz is a graduate of the Center for Visual Arts in Be'er Sheva, where he studied from 1989-1992. He has been painting since 1989 and since 1999 earns a living only from selling art. Since 1995 he has lived and worked from his studio in Tel Aviv.
Between the ages of 17 and 32, he wrote about forty diaries, sketchbooks and artist books in which he wrote daily and described his thoughts, experiences and feelings and his struggle with his homosexual sexual orientations. He later adorned the diaries with illustrations and drawings. The diaries were presented in a solo exhibition at Camera Obscura and in a group exhibition at the Sommer Gallery.
In his work, starting in 1995, he dealt with relationships, initially with relationships between men and women, in which complex relationships between men and women can be seen. In addition to explicit paintings, he created series of flower paintings, as a metaphor for the relationship between a man and a woman.
At the age of 32 he came out of the closet and began to draw relationships between men. At first, the paintings express hesitation and imperfection, while Peretz does not reveal the faces of the cartoonists. After his first love for a man in 1999 and coming to terms with his sexual orientation, the paintings became peaceful and he presented the homosexual relationship in an ideal way. Peretz has created a series of naive paintings that deal with loving relationships between men and common daily activities in the home environment. Over the years he painted his mates.

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