Shoshana Wayne Gallery is pleased to present Anna Lukashevsky: The New Immigrants. On view June 22nd through August 17th, 2024. Over the past two years, Anna Lukashevsky has focused on painting new immigrants from Russia and Ukraine, individuals who left their homes due to intolerance of their beliefs. Her subjects, including artists, writers, journalists, and filmmakers, represent a fraction of the more than 70,000 Russian and Ukrainian immigrants to Israel. As an immigrant from the USSR, Lukashevsky feels a deep connection to her subjects, reflecting this empathy in her work. Lukashevsky's detailed conversations during the lengthy portrait sessions transform each image from a mere archetype to a vivid individual narrative. The New Immigrants project took a poignant turn after October 7th, when Lukashevsky felt compelled to portray the emotional toll of Israel's war against Hamas. Her new portraits convey the trauma, depression, and sorrow experienced by Israelis since the war began. As a member of the New Barbizon Group, she draws on the tradition of en plein air painting to mirror contemporary life and highlight the lived experiences of those around her. Through The New Immigrants, Lukashevsky engages with the psychological and sociological dimensions of trauma. Lukashevsky humanizes the refugee crisis and the effects of war, creating powerful visual narratives that resonate with the present. Anna Lukashevsky was born in Vilnius, Lithuania and studied at HaMidrasha Art School, Israel. She has had solo exhibitions at the Haifa Museum of Art, and Bat Yam Museum of Art. Lukashevsky’s work can be found in the collections of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Tel Aviv Museum; Haifa Museum, Israel; and numerous private collections.