Menachem Boas was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1949, to a family distinguished for seven generations in its dedication to religious and secular activities. He settled in Israel in 1968 and began his studies in sofrus (the centuries old art of scribing) in Jerusalem. In 1974-75 he continued his studies in Armentieres, France. For several years he practiced as a sofer (scribe) and also illuminated text on parchment. In 1989, his love for the power and mystery of the Hebrew alefbais and the Torah inspired him to begin creating beautiful and complex paintings using the painstaking technique of color micrography.
Micrography, a Jewish art form developed in the ninth century, utilizes minute Hebrew letters to form representational, geometric and abstract designs. These rare artworks are customarily rendered in black and white. Richly symbolic and steeped in heritage, this remarkable art form is both intellectually and visually stimulating
Menachem Boas labors steadily for months on each image to create his paintings. He is one of the very few micrography artists in the world to use color, pastel, and metallic inks.
