In this work, the Hebrew word “Modeh”—give thanks—is embroidered at the center of the white paper, evoking the “Modeh Ani” prayer recited by every observant Jew daily upon awakening, before getting out of bed: “I give thanks before You / eternal and living King / who has restored my soul within me / with mercy; / Great is Your faithfulness.”

This work is part of Grady’s series of works of Jewish liturgy, in which he uses gold thread to embroider Hebrew words and symbols from the sacred texts onto thick white paper. The word, singular and echoing with meaning to anyone familiar with Jewish texts and traditions, is manifested in a minimal form that nevertheless conveys much. The golden word, painstakingly embroidered by hand, creates a sacred space, imbuing the serene, vast silence of the white canvas with the golden light and the soul of the Word - a space that is private yet shared by all observant Jews.
The convergence of the artist’s razor-sharp minimalism with the traditionally Mizrahi art of golden embroidery takes apart the conventional distinction between binary categories: modern and traditional, secular and religious, craft and art. Ancient traditional craft is reframed in the context of modern artistic discourse.