BOUNTIFUL ó Far more than beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In their current show, titled ìImages of Israelî and running through the end of the month at Lamplight Gallery, artists Barbara Dowdle and Deon Dowdle Quitberg look at the country through two very different lenses. Dowdle seems most fascinated by the countryís people, rendering them in soft, friendly pieces that carry the gentle blur of memory. In fact, her most affecting piece seems barely connected to Israel at all. In ìChildren Near Bethlehem,î the motley group of siblings seem like they could be from almost any country in the world. Quitberg, on the other hand, focuses all her attention on the land that Dowdle mostly ignores. Her delicate, precise works capture the crumbling stone and empty streets of Israelís famous ruins, such as a lone remaining olive press at Capernaum. In the pictures these ruins seem serene and silent, as if waiting for someone to return. ##M:MORE##

Her remaining attention is devoted to the nature that survived far longer than those cities, including a gnarled, sturdy olive tree near Bethany and a small cluster of bright Israel poppies. Theyíre a quiet, poetic celebration of life, living side-by-side with ruins.