The Hyams Museum of Judaica at Temple Beth Sholom in collaboration with 81 Leonard Gallery and Jewish Art Salon, is proud to present Artists on Antisemitism II, a survey of Jewish artists’ responses to the current global surge of antisemitism. This is an expanded version of the previous Artists on Antisemitism exhibition, with seven additional artists and twelve additional artworks.
Among artists of varying nationalities, familial histories, and levels of religiosity, a duality emerges between cautiously reflecting on traumatic narratives and driving forward with courage and optimism. The works on view form a spectrum between these two points of view, with many artists exploring the gray areas in the middle.
Curated by Bat-Sheva Slavin, Nancy Pantirer, Hannah Rothbard, Yona Verwer, and Judith Joseph.
OPENING RECEPTION:
Monday, September 16, 2024 – 7:00 pm
Temple Beth Sholom
Rabbi Ario S. & Tess Hyams Judaica Museum
401 Roslyn Rd., Roslyn Heights, NY 11577
REGISTER for the opening at https://tinyurl.com/TBSHyams
Exhibit on view Mon-Fri 7am-7pm, Sat-Sun 9am-7pm, until December 8, 2024
Featured artists: Maxwell Bauman, Isaac Ben-Aharon, Siona Benjamin, Diane Britt, Lenore Mizrachi-Cohen, Dorit Jordan Dotan, Ronit Levin Delgado, Goldie Gross, Dan Harris, Marina Heintze, Judith Joseph, Jeremy Kagan, Tobi Kahn, Akiva Listman, Richard McBee, Efrat Baler-Moses, Carol Oster, Nancy Pantirer, Mark Podwal, Leah Raab, Archie Rand, Joan Roth, Hannah Rothbard, Mira Sasson, Ruth Schreiber, Irina Sheynfeld, Ali Shrago-Spechler, Joel Silverstein, Susan May Tell, Yona Verwer.
View images here
Remembrance is a Jewish value and tying thread across the exhibition, though the artists go about memorializing in various ways. While many artists look to the past as a warning sign, others venerate individuals whose embodiment of strength and Jewish pride may serve the community now. Susan May-Tell’s photographs taken at Auschwitz concentration camp are similarly haunting in their documentation of items left behind by victims of the Nazi regime. Featuring one of many recent antisemitic events perpetrated in the name of anti-Zionism, Morning News by Goldie Gross depicts graffiti on the home of Brooklyn Museum director Anne Pasternak which draws from symbols used in Hamas propaganda to mark Israeli targets that are reminiscent of the Nazi method for denoting political prisoners. It captures how quotidien such unsettling events have become.
Tobi Kahn, SHABURH I, 2024, Acrylic on canvas, 18×24 inches
The vibrancy of Jewish life is portrayed as well, however tinged with an air of caution.
Archie Rand’s the Deborah Diptych, Panel 1 was based on the 1832 masterwork by painter Eduard Bendemann, “The Jews Mourning in Exile”. Now, today, like Eliezer, we must relate to our captives in exile and the hope of reclamation. This panel attests not only to Deborah’s natural, respected leadership but how unremarkably, naturally, the Scripture records it. This is Deborah. A giant. A fearless, decisive leader. Tobi Kahn is obsessed by memory and its imperative – times passing, the possibility of loss, an abrupt reversal of safety. In the face of the world’s instability, he wants to reveal not the evident reality but its essence, its immanent trepidation. Dan Harris’ paper-cut collage My Friend in Crown Heights portrays an intimate moment of fatherly love nuanced by the tension between proudly wearing one’s faith and the knowledge that it might make oneself and one’s family a target. While the man in Harris’ work dons pepper spray hanging from his belt, other artists draw from spirituality and folklore to envision protective objects or methods. Maxwell Bauman’s Emergency Golem builds upon the 16th-century story in which Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel created a golem from clay to defend the Jewish ghetto from the pogroms. Bauman’s golem built from legos and encased in glass like a fire hydrant meets the fear that misfortune might again strike with humor and optimism that the Jewish people are prepared. Yona Verwer’s Star Amulet resembles both an oversized star of David necklace and an armor shield. Though loaded with the history of needing protection, the wearable work invites one to step into their own strength.
Archie Rand, Deborah Diptych, 2008, Acrylic on canvas, 48” x 60” each panel
This exhibit provides a safe space for Jewish artists to reflect and experience catharsis and self-healing, while responding to the stress of antisemitism with new work. We use our voices to counter antisemitic and anti-Israel messages all around us, and aim to counter isolation with connection. We encourage a dialogue about how we move forward as a community.
The Jewish Art Salon is supported by CANVAS.
Siona Benjamin, Finding Home # 90 – Hear, 91 – See, 92- Speak no Evil (Fereshteh) Esther, 2006, Each 6.5″ x 5″, Archival print
Press coverage of our previous Artists on Antisemitism exhibition:
