Jacob’s Dream     Monumental 3-dimensional art work measuring 240 mq. by Nik Spatari 1991-1995
	The reinterpretation-restoration of the chapel of the monastery was envisioned by Nik Spatari long before he was able to actually start working on “Jacob’s Dream”: a gigantic three-dimensional painting that covers the whole vault and the front wall, measuring 240 square meters and dominating the ancient walls. In twenty-two scenes, the work narrates the epic deeds of Jacob, who was chosen by God to make Israel great, but it also tells the story of Jacob the man, his loves, and his defeats. Metaphorically, it is his own life that Spatari is telling, as he, too, is a man “put to the test”; he, too, is in some way a man chosen to testify, through art, to the mystery of God. Painting and architecture converge in creating a feeling of awe and astonishment. This work of art determines the character of the space surrounding it, which in turn is the very reason for its existence. While the work appears as a fully mature effort and the expressive peak of a long process taking place inside the artist’s own imaginative mind, the artistic significance of this masterpiece is exemplified by the vivid details, the inventiveness of the overall design, and the iconographic syncretism of its style. The dense procession of plastic forms is rendered dramatic by the rhythmical variety of colour. As the eyes follow the unfolding of the biblical story of Jacob, the free and agile spiraling motions of bodies turning in space seem energized by a liberating force emanating from within these images.