Leiba Rustin: layers of life

Leiba Rustin’s exhibit is all about layers, material and emotional. On the canvas, the drawings, pastels and ink cover each other to form a layered deep image. But the layers are also those of memories, lying in each object, adding up to tell a story, to give testimony for an entire life.“Sing Softly, Zing Shtil” celebrates the life of the artist’s late mother. The paintings represent everyday objects from her house. “To me, every single knick knack has a meaning and a story attached to it. Combined together, they become a portrait of my mother,” explained Rustin. For Galerie de la Ville’s curator Claudine Asher, Rustin’s work has a universal quality, and manages to reach truth through everyday objects.

The title of the exhibit is also a tribute to Rustin’s mother. “Sing Softly, Zing Shtil” is an old Yiddish lullaby which was her favourite song. “It’s a beautiful song about seeking your own true voice, the voice of your heart. My mother was a unique person, who always followed that voice,” she said.

Rustin’s technique gives her work a unique character: after drawing the picture, she completes it with pastel. Once it is done, she covers the whole thing with black ink. “It is scary but I let my intuition guide my through it,” she said. Then, she scrapes some of the black off to expose the image adds more colour to complete the piece. “In a way, it’s a metaphor of life: you start out all shiny and bright, then things get covered in black, but you manage to scrape it off. What remains is deeper and even more beautiful,” Rustin added.

Until June 30

Gallerie de la Ville

12001 de Salaberry Blvd., Dollard des Ormeaux

514-684-1012