In 2008, Yona Verwer asked me about the idea of creating an organization to help build a community of Jewish artists and promote their work through exhibitions, lectures, and meetings, which I thought was very needed. In the ensuing years, Yona has guided the Jewish Art Salon into a dynamic force, both nationally and internationally. I am honored to be a member of its advisory board, and I am sure that the Jewish Art Salon, under Yona’s leadership, will continue to grow in stature and influence in the larger art community. Tobi Kahn is a painter and sculptor whose work has been shown in over 70 solo exhibitions and over 60 museum and group shows.Works by Kahn are in major museum, corporate, and private collections. He is a professor of fine arts at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, a gallery and museum lecturer, and co-founded of the Artists’ Beit Midrash and Avoda Arts. Tobi Kahn, Member since 2008.
The Jewish Art Salon is a symbol of the tremendous growth of interest in the creation and study of art with Jewish content over the last few decades. Its membership includes artists who work in many styles and mediums and whose individual concerns are as varied as its membership. Through its meetings, exhibition and educational programs, and various outreach efforts, it appeals to and brings together a surprisingly large number of artists who choose to explore their religious and cultural heritage, examine what it means to create art with Jewish content in the contemporary world, and, in effect, help create a modern Jewish culture appropriate to life in America. As a clearing house for ideas and a meeting place for artists to discuss issues of the moment as well as provide spaces where artists can show their work–where their work can be seen and discussed–the Salon offers its members an unparalleled opportunity to develop and enhance their lives and careers on many levels–professional, personal, religious, and spiritual. Matthew Baigell, Art Historian. Member since 2008.
Joining the Jewish Art Salon has been a life changing experience. I began with the Salon as an intern, and was given access to an endless amount of opportunities that I would have never been able to find otherwise. From exhibition opportunities to curatorial experience, the Jewish Art Salon has connected me to a network of artists and opportunities, and I am extraordinarily grateful to Yona Verwer and the Salon for helping me make my career goals a reality. If you’re a Jewish art student, get involved with the Jewish Art Salon. Trust me, it will be one of the better decisions you make during your college career. Goldie Gross, Artist / Curator. member since 2017.
The Jewish Art Salon has become the most important forum for the focus of Jewish visual arts events and accomplishments. It is the most active Jewish artists’ information exchange – anywhere. Its importance in validating Jewish identification in the visual arts and transmitting information about relevant events cannot be overestimated. The J.A.S. should be given credit for establishing a recognition, within the arts community, of those subject matters that were previously dismissed in the aesthetic discourse. The very presence of the J.A.S. continues to encourage those many, formerly disenfranchised, artists who continue to manifest a connection to their heritage. Archie Rand, Artist, Member since 2008.
The Jewish Art Salon, through the dedication of Yona Verwer, has made a name for itself in its mission to promote art on Jewish subjects. Countering the perception that Jewish themed art is primarily “kitsch,” the Jewish Art Salon is a unique resource for artists and art professionals. Mark Podwal, Artist, Member since 2009.
As an emerging artist, I have found the Jewish Art Salon to be instrumental in providing the inspiration, support and education needed to continue my career in the arts. The programming they provide and the connections I’ve made through JAS helped encourage me in thinking creatively about my next steps as an artist. Lenore Cohen, Artist, Member since 2016.
The Jewish Art Salon made 2016 a really great year for me. This year I participated in several exhibitions organized by the J.A.S., which resulted in my painting selling recently as well. I love meeting curators and artists who genuinely inspire my vision and concretely offer opportunities for exhibiting it. Batya Kuncman, Artist, Member since 2009.
The Salon serves as a community for all artists who work with Jewish subject matter and Jewish ideas. It has held about 15 exhibitions so far in museums, galleries, alternative spaces, and community centers, as well as linkages with the Jerusalem Biennial. The website is a great resource, displaying people’s works, calls for art and personal accomplishments. The Salon meetings are a great place to meet artists, discuss ideas and see works that you probably wouldn’t see in a “regular” gallery setting. It is an important organization that continues to grow. Joel Silverstein, Artist / Curator, Member since 2008.
I’m so grateful to you for the Jewish Art Salon meeting. It’s very important for me to be a part of this vibrant art community, to be able to see what other are doing and share ideas with one another. I was honored to be paired with William Kentridge and Ellen Holtzblatt, artists whom I greatly respect and admire. I’m looking forward to the next presentation! Dorit and Judith both do such an excellent job of putting each program together so seamlessly and making everyone feel welcome. Many many thanks again for the opportunity to share my work and be part of such a supportive and inspiring group of artists. Leah Raab, Artist.
The Jewish Art Salon is the most important group of Jewish artists. It is the greatest organization of its kind to promote Jewish Art. It has curated exhibitions in the US and abroad. It presents intellectual opportunities to develop artistic ideas and connect artists and art professionals from all over the world. When Covid19 struck, the JAS initiated the Virtual Art Visit Program on Sundays, co-sponsored by Jada. I was lucky and honored to present a visual tour to the exhibition I curated in Berlin, highligting 10 JAS’s members (of 20 artist) in the show. Thank you Yona Verwer and the Jewish Art Salon for creating this amazing organization! Dorit Jordan Dotan, Curator/Artist.
Jewish Art Salon offers a unique and professional forum for curated presentations and exhibitions coupled with highly critical, moderated and thought filled exchanges by some of the most engaging and active international artists. Their current online format has enabled the highly acclaimed Open Studio series to continue during the pandemic. Chana Wiesenthal Elias, Artist.
Thank you JAS and dear Yona the founder for curating such brilliant important exhibitions with fantastic eclectic international artists! Great supportive network and fun interesting Sundays zoom studio visits. ישר כוח! Ronit Levin Delgado, Artist. The Jewish Art Salon is a great organization. It provides artists with opportunities to show. It’s been a lifeline during the pandemic by offering zoom based studio visits and discussions. I’m very grateful to be a member. Thank you to all of the people who work so hard to make all of this happen. Phillip Schwartz, Artist. So happy to have another great series of JAS artist interviews online! I definitely recommend signing up with JAS so you can be inspired by the work and thoughts of a variety of very interesting Jewish artists from various parts of the world. The slide shows and talks presented are the only way many of us (I live in Seattle) are going to meet these artists and experience their work. Thank you JAS and artists, and I hope this becomes a permanent feature. Nancy Current, Artist. Exhibitions by the Jewish Art Salon show excellent examples of contemporary Jewish Art by artists spanning the globe. Representing all media from traditional painting to new media and covering relevant topics and themes for today, Jewish Art Salon is a unique group. Miriam Stern, Artist. Many thanks to Yona and the Jewish Art Salon for bringing together this community. I joined in early 2020, seeing it as potentially a good thing that could come out of the pandemic: an opportunity to discover work I could never access otherwise, and to meet other artists from around the world who engage with the varieties Jewish experience. But what I discovered was on a much higher level. Extraordinary artists shared their work and the discussions they generated were enlightening, expansive, deeply affecting and delightful all at the same time. And I came away from every session feeling awe and joy and recommitted to my own practice. Chana Zelig, Artist. The Jewish Art Salon(JAS) is comprised of artists who identify Judaism, being Jewish, and/or Jewishness as a significant factor that contributes to each artist’s experience in the world as an individual as well as local to global member-citizen in any range of inherited and/or selected communities and contexts. JAS members’ visual practices and production straddle multiple identities within multiple frames of reference in which individual identifiers/signifiers and shared, collective and universal human experiences and conditions are interwoven. JAS is a forum that is empowering a contemporary, cutting-edge, international, deeply socially-conscious conversation – of heart, mind, body and soul – in which identity; personal to global conditions; and the power of art and vision invite critical thinking, deep feeling and transformative action. The JAS conversation continues to grow exponentially in depth, scope, span, breadth, reach, impact. Take a look at the JAS website and follow JAS exhibitions and activities, and become part of a fabulously rich, unprecedented, highly dynamic, and evolving visual discourse and dialogue! Cheselyn Amato, Artist. I am delighted to be a member of the Jewish Art Salon. I joined right at the beginning and although I live in Jerusalem, and not in NYC where most of the actual events take place, I nevertheless gain many benefits from my membership: predominantly Calls for Art, Group Exhibitions and a sense of art community. I so admire what Yona Verwer and her devoted colleagues have built up! Ruth Schreiber, Artist. Jewish Art Salon, an unique breeding place for Jewish art, where they all cook a lot of new idea’s. Just followed a serie of on-line sessions, an open stage for great artworks and discussions. Chapeau to all the staff members and to Yona Verwer, the engine behind this great organisation! Billha Zussman, Artist / Docent Jewish Museum Amsterdam. The Jewish Art Salon has been an incredible asset for me, the members are all lovely and professional artists who have not just become a part of my network but also a source of advice and encouragement. Yona Verwer and the other executives of the team are helpful, encouraging, open to initiatives, and ever willing to help with furthering my art career. Yehudis Barmatz, Artist. The Jewish Art Salon is an invaluable resource to see work outside the mainstream, and hear directly from the artists. I feel a sense of community with both the presenters and other attendees. It was great to get the curators’ tour of the Jerusalem Biennale, with their enlightening commentary. It is always surprising and intriguing. Susan Richards, Artist. The Jewish Art Salon is a treasure trove of the best contemporary Jewish artists working today. It is a great resource for educators and researchers, as well as collectors. It is a dynamic, supportive organization for Jewish artists: sponsoring exhibitions, salon programs and lectures, and forging links between Jewish artists and art-appreciators around the world. Judith Joseph, Artist / Curator.
