Artist from Teaneck draws acclaim for capturing trauma of Israel at war

In one of Leah Raab's latest works of art, a pair of arms stretch out in desperation from a dark canvas. They reach towards the heavens like a prayer. Elsewhere, feet and hands clutch their way from an abyss, anxious for freedom.

To some, the composition in wood and acrylic paint represents salvation − the title Raab gave the piece. For others, the distorted fragments create a sense of unease, recalling terror and war. The distorted limbs, assembled from scraps of wood, appear to flail amidst unspeakable horrors.

For Raab, creating such pieces has offered a way of coping with the deadly Hamas terror attack on Israel.

"When art is abstract, people see what they want to see," said the artist, who grew up in Trenton and spent 15 years in Teaneck before moving to Israel at the turn of the millennium. "Every painting is open to interpretation. But some people can't look at this piece because it's too disturbing."

Dark meditations on Oct. 7 find an audience

The unsettling mood has become a prominent feature of Raab's work since the Hamas assault. It's a feeling many can relate to. This summer, Raab's pieces are on display in a Manhattan art show, as well as in a pair of exhibits in Israel that feature artists trying to make sense of Oct. 7 and the deadly conflict in Gaza that has followed.

"Right now my work is very dark because it reflects my mood and the mood of the country," Raab, 71, said in an interview. But, she added, "I don't like being depressed and painting sad pictures."

The attack, in which thousands of Hamas fighters surged into Israel, was the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust, with 1,200 people killed and another 250 taken hostage. Israel's counteroffensive against Hamas has left more than 39,000 Palestinians dead, according to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, and sparked a humanitarian crisis. It has also been greeted with a spike in antisemitism around the world.

An artist and art teacher for over 50 years, Raab has taught at numerous North Jersey schools, i ncluding Torah Academy of Bergen County in Teaneck, the Moriah School in Englewood, and Solomon Schechter Day School in New Milford. She's now earning acclaim for her artwork, which has been displayed in Canada, London, Amsterdam and Berlin, among other venues.

Leah Raab exhibits in New York, Israel

This summer, her work is part of an exhibit at the 81 Leonard Gallery in Tribeca, "Artists on Antisemitism," which will run through Aug. 30. She has a solo exhibit in Kfar Saba, in central Israel, starting in late July, and is part of a group show in Israel's Monio Gallery that runs through Sept. 22. Her work also appeared in two other group exhibitions in her hometown of Ra'anana earlier this year.

She generated talk for her painting, "Memories," which portrays dozens of figures within square frames, representing portraits of victims reminiscent of the Hall of the Names at Israel's Yad Vashem World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem.

"These are people who were wiped out because of antisemitism," said Raab.

In another piece, "Monsters," which Raab created in response to the Oct. 7 massacre, menacing eyes and twisted forms peer out from a foreboding background, creating a sense of terror.

For much of her career, Raab, who has lived in Israel for 25 years, painted bright landscapes and expressive figures. But in the months following the Hamas attack, her art has taken on a different tone, populated by disjointed shapes, dark colors and disturbing images.

"My art is a reflection of my life," she said. "I paint whatever I am going through." Raab's mother was an artist. Her father was a Holocaust survivor who became a sociology professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Her husband of 50 years, David Raab, is a management consultant who also grew up in Trenton.

Painting her way through trauma

For a while, after Oct. 7, Raab couldn't paint, couldn't even approach a canvas. "The massacre was terrifying," she said. "I couldn't just return to painting like before. Nothing felt normal. I was glued to the news."

Then one day, Raab found wooden scraps in her art studio and examined them closely. "They were reminiscent of war images, body parts. screaming faces." She started arranging them on canvas and added paint. The process led her to create abstract compositions that "helped me to recreate my shock and feelings," she said.

Oct. 7 has generated an outpouring from painters, writers and illustrators in Israel and the wider Jewish community seeking an outlet to express their emotions. Others wanted to document the atrocities of war for the broader public.

Raab, a mother of three and grandmother of 10, shows no signs that she will put away her paintbrush soon. These days, she wakes daily at 4 a.m., eager to get to her studio. She paints from morning to dusk.

To understand the world, she says, "I have to paint." The only times she doesn't pick up a brush are on the Jewish sabbath or holidays. On those days, she takes long walks.

Art has always been Raab's way of dealing with trauma. After her mother died of lung cancer 25 years ago, she painted images of lungs. Eventually, they morphed into friendly turtles.

During the COVID pandemic, she depicted masked people receiving vaccinations or praying outdoors.

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Before that, she painted the houses and streets of her town in Israel.

She hopes someday she can return to happier images.

"I pray things will get better," she said. "I don't want to paint sad pictures anymore."

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to her work covering how the spiritual intersects with our daily lives, please subscribe or activate your digital account today .

Email: yellin@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Artist from Teaneck draws acclaim for capturing trauma of Israel at war