The title, “The Sound of Longing,” is perfect for the exhibition of paintings by Dov Harel Talpaz, now hanging at SARHCROWN, through Nov. 25. Dov’s paintings are songs of the human experience, of the deepest of ancient emotions, the emotions between lovers, parents and siblings, between ourselves and the unexplainable world beyond ourselves. Dov often begins with a biblical story, or the narrative of a film by, for instance, Mizoguchi, and though the main characters, such as Jacob, Esau, Rebecca and Issac, are all there, Dov’s paintings are not illustrations of the stories. Much as the biblical or film characters, according to Talpaz, are not literal people, but rather metaphors that “reveal aspects of the self,” his paintings also are not literal representations of the original stories. Through fine-tuned color and shape, detail and generality, facial expression, gesture, and choreography, his paintings create an internal music that brings us into our inner cores, where our own sad, hurt and confused – but also hopeful – emotions lurk. However, though Dov’s paintings do indeed suggest universals, they actually grow out of his personal life. An Israeli/American, throughout childhood Dov moved frequently between the two countries, suffering a nagging, anchorless dislocation – but he also became centered through the melodious piano playing by his mother – and these two opposing sensations permeate his work. As an addendum, with Dov’s Israeli roots, it’s tempting to read the current Middle East hostilities into his paintings. These paintings, however, were made before the war began, and though political tensions might intrude subtly, as they do for all Israelis – and perhaps all thinking people – Dov’s paintings reflect the deeper, eternal struggles of being human, rather than the conflicts of the day-to-day. Dov is a humanist, not political commentator. Accompanying the exhibition is an excellent catalogue essay by Jennifer Samet.