The exhibit "Coexistence: Paintings 1993-1998," with works by Carole Naggar exploring the meaning of intercultural communications, will be on display Feb. 1-April 1 in the Rabinowitz Gallery of the Joseph Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, 80 Wall St.

The artist will speak about her work at a reception being held 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 7. The public is invited.

An Egyptian Jew who lived for many years in France, Naggar experienced life in a multi-religious, multi-ethnic community where Muslims, Jews and Coptic Christians found a way of living together. According to the artist, her recent works emerge from a reflection on the current conflict between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.

In the paintings on display in "Coexistence," Naggar used several layers of hand-made paper to achieve a tactile effect. In some of the works, the artist juxtaposes letters from the Hebrew alphabet with Arabic words against map-like backgrounds suggesting a confusion of borders. In the larger, more recent paintings that gave their name to this series, the artist again explored the subject of borders -- this time weaving Arabic and Hebrew into each other or clashing them with indecipherable sentences written in the Latin alphabet.

"These paintings are about a double heritage; an exile twice lived; a land once shared, and a possible future," says Naggar. "The desert is an open book where the supple curves of Arabic and the sculptural presence of Hebrew could coexist. In the center, a broken line, a scar: silent breath before words, between worlds."

"Coexistence: Paintings, 1993-1998" is made possible by support from The Allan and Leah Rabinowitz Art Fund of Yale Hillel. It is scheduled to coincide with the Slifka Center's presentation of "The Yale Accords: An Undergraduate Model Middle-Eastern Peace Conference."

Gallery hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday and Sunday. Admission is free.