Bezalel Academy of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem

In late December of 1959, Smarkusz went on pilgramage to Israel and became an international guest artist and student at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem.  Inspired by his trip to The Holy Land, he created these 42 small abstract paintings.
 

In these 42 primitively abstract, but symbolically mythomorphic images, Smarkusz completed the last series of what we have been calling Fusionism.  By the end of 1961, he had fully transitioned to a highly illustrative style we describe as Mythic-realism.

This image, and the next, are both underlaid with 24 karat gold leaf.  In honor of the craftsman at Bezalel.

In Roman mythology, the genius was originally the family ancestor who lived in the underworld.  Later, the genius became more a protecting or guardian spirit for persons.  These spirits guided and protected that person throughout his life.  Every man had a genius.  Women had their own genius, which was called a juno.  The genius was usually depicted as a winged, naked youth.

Interpreting "Large Horse and Lovers"

This image obviously belongs to Smarkusz's 1960s "Eden Frolic" period which begins after his return to Boston from Jerusalem.  We include it here to compare it to the 1950s abstract Fusionism shown in this gallery.