SAN LUIS POTOSÍ.- Rebecca Brodskis’ art emerges from the crossroads of cultures, shaped by her life in Marseille—a city defined by its diversity and Mediterranean outlook. Born in France and raised between Europe and Morocco, Brodskis draws on her experience of multiple worlds to reveal the universal language of emotion and gesture that connects us all. Her paintings inhabit the realm of portraiture, yet they do not portray specific individuals; blending reality and imagination, observation and memory, Brodskis captures something essential about our shared humanity.
Her compositions are spare and focused, stripping away extraneous detail to foreground the figure. Each subject, rendered in vivid, layered colors, is caught in a moment—like a still from a moving image. These bold characters, with their luminous eyes and angular poses, seduce us with their intensity and invite reflection on the strangeness of social encounters. Inspired by friends, acquaintances, or figures encountered in her daily life, Brodskis portrays subjects through recurring figurative motifs, to explore the duality of existence. Echoing the stylized portraiture of Modigliani, or Dumas, she reveals the inner lives of her subjects while maintaining a distinctive, recognizable style. Her work achieves a delicate balance between the specific and the universal, focusing on mood and psychological presence rather than narrative or personality. “What they feel is what I think we all feel,” she reflects, capturing the spectrum of human emotion—doubt, joy, sorrow, dreams, fear, beauty, and anxiety.
Drawing inspiration from her collective studio, Les Ateliers Lautard, Brodskis’ practice centres on community, dialogue, and collaboration. Her portraiture is both a record of her artistic milieu and a testament to the power of art to foster social cohesion and acceptance. Like a ‘tableau vivant’, her subjects—friends, collaborators, and fellow artists— reflect the ongoing social exchange that animates her creative process. Seeking a common thread, Brodskis enlists gesture as a universal language, prompting moments of recognition and empathy. Her portraits explore the tension that exists between outward appearance and inner life, or the complex dilemma of relationships. Her work invites us to slow down and reconsider how we perceive others. In a world of fleeting encounters and surface impressions, her paintings offer a space for contemplation and connection. They remind us that beneath every gesture lies a world of meaning, and that understanding others—like understanding art—requires both attention and imagination.
“A Gesture” presented by AMMA Foundation, reframes portraiture as a universal language of body and emotion, challenging us to look beyond appearances and engage with the shared experience of being human. Strangely familiar, Brodskis’ work stands as a powerful reminder of art’s enduring role in building empathy, dialogue, and community in an ever-changing world.
Nico Kos Earle, 2025
