LAURA CESANA


VESTÍGIOS HEBRAICOS EM PORTUGAL--viagem de uma pintora
Jewish Vestiges in Portugal-travels of a painter

Bilingual book by Laura Cesana

Laura Cesana was born in Rome,Italy, spent her childhood in NYC and lives in Portugal. She has had one woman exhibits in Portugal, Italy, France, Luxembourg, U.S.A, Brasil, Hong Kong and Macau.
LAURA CESANA's next exhibition, with the theme Sea and Music will open Fri. Nov. 9, at 21,30 at the Centro Cultural de Cascais. The book is already on sale there. At the same time of the exhibition there will be a 60' video with different phases of Cesana's art work (also some "Jewish phases", of exhibitions in Portugal and Brasil, partly in English). The exhibit will be on till Jan 13th 2008, Tues to Sundays from 10 AM till 18 o'clock. www.lauracesana.com

About the book: it has had different reviews in Portuguese, French, English, Italian...here are some brief abstracts:
--(..) Trata-se assim de uma obra que nos fala da História através da pintura, como da inspiração através da História.""Uma obra extremamente ambiciosa..." Alexandra Luis (Revista Valor)
--"Now along comes an impressive art book by Lisbon painter Laura Cesana (...)" "The book also opens doors to Jewish landmarks in a way not found in the meager guidebooks that tourists usually resort to when they visit Portugal. The Cesana book is written in both Portuguese and English on facing pages. It also has a rich supplement of notes. The text, the photographs of places, objects and her art work are a very sensitive account of a five year search." Kathleen Teltsch (retired journalist of "The New York Times")

--Belissimo ensaio de investigação e objecto de arte (...) oference-nos simultaneamente uma síntese muito equilibrada e rigorosa do passado dos judeus, marranos, e cristãos-novos na nossa pátria (...) e a reprodução dos seus quadros admiráveis, onde aparecem rituais, cenas de culto, objectos sagrados, sempre à beira do mistério, do silêncio, da meditação, do Shabat (...)" Estamos assim perante um livro fora do comum, multiplo e uno, e aé a personalidade de Laura Cesana que lhe oferece essa singularidade." "A edição é bilingue, em português e inglês e incorpora estudos e opiniões de Lima de Freitas, Fernando de Azevedo, Fernando Pernes e outros críticos de arte e escritores." Urbano Tavares Rodrigues (no Jornal das Letras, Artes e Ideias)

--"The artist Laura Cesana presents a rare depiction of the heritage of Portuguese Jewry through history, culture, and art (...) She also remembered to include brief depictions of Portuguese Jewish settlement in Brazil, Amsterdam and New York." "Laura Cesana is unique in that she commemorated little-known segments of Sephardic Portuguese Jewry not only through historical and ethnographic notations, but via original painting. Her Italian and United States background add a new perspective to viewing Portuguese Jewry. (...)" Yitzchak Kerem (editor of "Sepharad")


Laura Cesana