Limonchiki-acrylic, latex and metallic on canvas, 49″ x 39″, 2024
Limonchiki is a Yiddish-Russian gangster song from Odessa, Ukraine that was popularized in the 1930s by Soviet Jewish jazz singer Leonid Utyosov. In 2001, the Amsterdam Klezmer Band did a delightful cover I was immediately drawn to. Although Limonchicki was never formally translated into Yiddish, it remains classic klezmer. Having translated the chorus into Yiddish, I’ve used it as a frame over “Sonia’s balcony”.