Boaz Vaadia first came to the U.S. in 1976 on a grant scholarship that was renewed in 1977. This was a dramatic change from his roots in Israel as a self-taught artist and native material laborer. “At first I thought I made the worst mistake,” he said. “I left an environment where I had knowledge of every stone, every cranny. This city, at first glimpse, seemed so big and unnatural. I feared I'd removed myself from those forces I was so connected to. And then I realized that the urban environment is actually as natural as my village - here, I can find remnants of the relationship of human to mother earth based on a primal connection, the need for shelter. I found it in the bluestone sidewalk, the slate roofing. What's happening there is the accumulative knowledge of human beings relating to stones.”

Additional works by this artist can be seen on display at the Sarasota Herald Tribune building on Main Street in downtown Sarasota January 8 through May 30, 2014.