Red Hook artist Michael Hafftka describes his large-scale oil paintings as works of realism. Influenced by his Jewish heritage — his parents were both Holocaust survivors — and his Brooklyn surroundings, Hafftka creates stark images, though, that manage to retain a discernible tenderness.
“I don’t control what I represent,” Hafftka said to GO Brooklyn. “I experience something that I can’t explain, which gives me a certain measure of faith.”
He has just released “Conscious / Unconscious,” a collection of short stories and drawings based on his life which he began in 1973. His next work will be a study of the morphology of the Hebrew alphabet.
“Conscious / Unconscious” is available at BookCourt (163 Court St. at Dean Street in Cobble Hill) for $18. For information, call (718) 875-3677.
