Zlait's story adds a complex and necessary layer to the question "Who is an Israeli painter?" He does not come from the salons of Vienna or Paris, but from the rich visual tradition of Iraq. He brings with him a different color palette, compositions that are influenced by visual memories of colorful markets, inner courtyards and the Tigris River. The move to Israel was not just a geographical transition for Zlait, but a stylistic transition. He was required to conduct an artistic dialogue between these two worlds. His works from this period onwards are fascinating evidence of this encounter. In conversations with him, he always said that when he came to Israel he decided to abandon the old world from which he came and live in the new world, in the Land of Israel.
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