Jerusalem-born Eran Fraenkel is a self-taught abstract artist who moved to Providence in 2016 after 22 years living and working in Macedonia, Brussels, Jakarta, and Barcelona.

Eran works mainly on paper with acrylics and inks but has been using alcohol inks and making resin pours. As a life-long musician, Eran reacts to the aural and visible world to create visual rhythm, tempo, and harmony. In Indonesia, he was inspired by the ubiquitous presence of oceans and his experiences underwater; by Java’s batik patterns; and by the sounds of Javanese gamelan. His Barcelona pieces juxtapose Catalan modernisme and vestiges of the region’s Moorish past. Eran’s pen-and-ink pieces reflect his long-time fascination with Islamic arts and Arabic calligraphy, especially their geometricity and color play.

Eran’s mother’s family came to Jerusalem from Iran in 1905, but there was no Persian culture in his parents’ home. Ironically, when Covid struck, Eran seized the opportunity to learn his mother’s family’s home language: Farsi. With his teacher, he has created a series of pen-and-ink black/white drawings that incorporate hand-calligraphed verses from famous Classical Farsi poetry, such as Omar Khayyam’s Rubiyyat. He also has an extensive series called Persianesque, which is intended to pay homage to (but not imitate) traditional Ottoman/Persian surface design and patterning.

Eran is an ex-officio board member of the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative and of Providence Gallery Night. He is an also Elected Artist of Art League Rhode Island.