BUILDING A CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP
By Meryll Levine Page, P2G Facilitator
One of us lives here, one of us lives in Rehovot. In hevruta (pairs) we studied, we built friendships with words and silence, we created and we grew together. This exhibit is the culmination of these partnerships. What is invisible to viewers is the strength of our relationships forged in study and conversation with each other.
Our topic, Israel@70: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow lent itself to three units that included; texts from classical Jewish sources, medieval sources, and modern sources. Whether we read in Hebrew or English, we grappled with questions that forced us to examine our attitudes and understanding of Israel and one another.
Each pair chose an idea or a phrase from our learning that became a springboard for both artists. Some pairs collaborated closely; others shared their work only at the end.
Some conversations were difficult. Some of our Israeli partners challenged our choice to live in the Diaspora. Some of us had opposing political views. At times, our exchanges were emotional. During our time together, some of us suffered
loss or illness, some rejoiced in births and other s’mahot (joyous occasions).
We began our partnerships learning Jewish text and focusing on our projects
and ended with a meeting of hearts and minds. Our relationships and our
learning have bound us even closer to Israel and Israelis.
During the opening week of this exhibit we read God’s promise in Vayikra (Leviticus) 25:19:
The land shall yield its fruit and you shall eat your fill, and you shall live upon it
in security.
May it be so.
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Meet our artists from Minneapolis and Rehovot. We've provided an image of their artwork from this project celebrating the 70th birthday of Israel. We invite you to explore their websites for more. For larger images please go to Artist Partnerships where we present the work of the partnered artists, side by side.
Minneapolis Artists
Lucy Rose Fischer
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Ann Ginsburgh Hofkin studied philosophy, mathematics, and music at Mount Holyoke College and earned her master’s from Bryn Mawr. In 2001, she participated in an artists’ exchange in Israel. She has had nine solo photography exhibitions in Israel, and one-person shows at venues such as Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in Massachusetts; A.I.R. Gallery and Weill Art Gallery in NYC and the Quarter Gallery, Regis Center, University of Minnesota. She is represented by A.I.R. Gallery in New York and Wendy Frieze Gallerist in Minneapolis. Her photographs are part of private and corporate collections, including the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Hennepin History Museum, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 3M, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, Woodstock Center for Photography, Medtronic Corporation, University of St. Thomas, Jerusalem Theater (Israel), Poriya Hospital (Israel), Massachusetts General Hospital, Adath Jeshurun Congregation (MN), Park Nicollet Women’s Center (MN), and Fidelity Investments.
About the Artwork: As we approach the 70th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel, the Jewish People can look back at a rich albeit challenging history, a complicated state of current affairs presenting divergent opinions and interests, and a view toward the myriad of unknowns that lie in the future. We have our own country, yes, but now, what do we DO with it to uphold our ideals while addressing security and other critical factors? All of this underscores the need for dialogue and cooperation to “navigate” the many issues that surround us as we attempt to build a better future. My partner in this P2G artist exchange, Joelle Zajfman, and I incorporated something from the other’s artwork into our own respective pieces. I was immediately attracted to one of Joelle's bronze sculptures and incorporated it to symbolize a swimmer suspended in several layers of both turbulent and peaceful waters against a background of shifting sand. The reflective qualities of my medium symbolize the importance of being able/willing to look outward and inward simultaneously. Medium: Dye Sublimation Print on Aluminum |
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Sid Konikoff
Sid Konikoff was born in Albany New York in 1940 and learned photography as his father's assistant. He earned his engineering degrees at Columbia in New York and spent a year in Israel (1963-4) at the Weizmann Institute. Prior to his heart surgery he enjoyed hiking and piloting small aircraft. Now he spends more time with creative projects including carpentry, photography and family genealogy.
About the Artwork: In 1964 I was privileged to attend the Yom Haatzmaut Parade in Beer Sheva where I took the photo of the airplanes with their colored contrails. The vignette is of our grandson’s Brit Mila. The Brit Mila is the sign of the covenant with Abraham for the everlasting holding of the land of Israel. It is our link with the past and our hope for the future. Medium: Photography |
"Do Not Forget the Hope"
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Meryll Page
Meryll Page is a teacher and writer. She has taught history and Jewish studies for 39 years. Meryll co-facilitated the Minneapolis Jewish Artists' Lab for the past five years. She also writes a weekly column for the synagogue newsletter connecting food and the weekly Torah portion. You can find both recipes and discussion at her Tasting Torah site. Meryll is a consultant to the Minnesota Humanities Center as they launch a feasibility study about setting up a Humanities Institute for Minnesota teachers and found time to write and publish a non-fiction work, Jewish Luck, co-authored with her sister.
About the Artwork: During our conversations about the verse, “Choose life,” Cheryl and I noted that the command is issued in the singular leading us to conclude that each individual in every generation has the obligation to actively choose life and choose how to perpetuate our people. When I visited Israel in October 2017, I had the opportunity to attend my cousin’s army ceremony. I am so proud of the choices he has already made at the tender age of 20. As I look ahead beyond Israel’s seventieth year, I feel confident in Israel’s future if it lies in the hands of Israelis like my cousin. Medium: Photo and prose An Ode to My First Cousin Once Removed Whose Boots are Firmly Planted in Eretz Yisrael
Your little boy body is encased in your newly sculpted soldier’s form. Your sweet n’shama breathes through the slightly rumpled khaki. Like your Ima you are not seduced by the glitter of your American family’s life. Like your Abba you are immersed in Torah, gemilut hasadim, and the exhilaration of Israeli life. Guided by your moral compass, you withhold judgment of others. You embrace the contentiousness of your society. You choose the challenging path when others shirk responsibility. You choose the path of openness when others slam the doors to their minds. You view a panorama of possibilities before you. For the sake of your children and for all of Israel You choose life. |
"Ode to my Cousin Whose Feet Are Firmly Planted in Eretz Yisrael"
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Paula Leiter Pergament
Paula Leiter Pergament is a mixed media artist with a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art and post-graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, Macalaster College and the Instituto Allende, San Miguel, Mexico. Paula’s process is an intuitive one. She collects natural and found objects and often incorporates them into her work. Each of the treasures that she finds has a story and a history, sometimes obvious, sometimes one she must wait to discover. A found object can sit quietly in her studio for years before it has a chance to speak and find its way into a completed work of art. Often her drawings and paintings contain a shape, a color, a line or a texture inspired by her collected treasures.
About the Artwork: I was moved to respond to Naomi Shemer’s poem AL KOL AILEH (for all of these)... The chorus says, “For the sake of these things, Lord, let your mercy be complete Bless the sting and bless the honey Bless the bitter and the sweet” There are 4 printed pieces. The original mono print & the three ghost prints are all printed from the original inked plate. I have painted, separately, into all 4 prints to complete the compositions. Medium: original mono print and 3 ghost prints, painted |
Close-up of one of the images
"Bless the Sting & Bless the Honey, Bless the Bitter & the Sweet"
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Phil Rosenbloom
Phil Rosenbloom strives to create artwork that is visually lush, and intellectually stimulating. His training includes a BA in Sculpture from Stanford University, study at the University of Haifa, Israel and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His work has been exhibited around the United States including the Chicago Art Expo and the Minneapolis Art Institute. He is an avid art collector and serves on the board of the Weisman Art Museum and the College of Visual Arts and was the JCC cultural arts chair.
About the Artwork: This piece is a combination of two images that were exchanged between myself and my P2G partner Ori Sasson. They both contain a pile of dry sticks, one in America and one in Israel. I see them as a metaphor for the highly combustible political situation that exists in both countries at the moment. Neither is burning yet, but a spark could easily ignite the pile into an out of control blaze. Tinder also refers to the hookup app which facilitates the pairing of random people, Ori and I were paired up in similarly random fashion with the hopes of igniting a creative spark. Medium: Photography |
"Tinder"
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Jan Rubenstein
"Thus female worshippers were unable to participate in the lighting of the menorah. To counter this, they lit their own menorah in their segregated areaJan Rubenstein began connecting Judaism and art by designing kippot and tallit bags. Upon her retirement from her career in early childhood intervention, she returned to art, focusing on the figure and printmaking. She has exhibited within the Twin Cities both individually and as a member of the Minneapolis Drawing Coop and the Midwest Jewish Artists Lab. The Woman of the Wall, the Sabbath Queen, the handprints of her grandchildren became the hamsa which occurs repeatedly in her work. These continuing motifs include Judaic celebration and the role of women in Judaism. Rubenstein is currently drawn to the alef-bet using screenprinting, wood engraving, linocut and monotypes. Her work can be found in synagogues and private collections. She is blessed with two adult children and three grandchildren. Jan had her Bat Torah when she turned sixty. Recently she had the joy of creating the kippot for her twin grandchildren's b'nei mitzvah.
About the Artwork: The Sabbath Queen, the Woman of the Wall......Eight years ago my husband read a newspaper article aloud to me about the fact that women could not worship at the Kotel with men, but instead were relegated to a separate area.Thus female worshippers were unable to participate in the lighting of the menorah. To counter this, they lit their own menorah in their segregated area. In addition, they could not bring in a Torah much less read from it in their separate space. Women have been strip searched, spat upon, and ridiculed....something that would be unimaginable here in the USA. My incredulity led me to create this piece celebrating women and the hope for gender equality. Medium: Acrylic, monoprint, silkscreen, collage |
"L'Chaim: The Future is Here"
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Bonnie Rubinstein
Bonnie Rubinstein was born in Hewlett, New York, into a family working in the fashion industry. Her early passion for design and love for the natural world later combined, which resulted in obtaining an advanced degree in urban design / environmental planning. She was on site-specific design teams in NY, OH, CO and MN for public and private project spaces. She was on the lead design team for Beaver Creek Ski Resort, CO. Some years later, Bonnie designed and hand created an exclusive line of high-end fashion sculpted jewelry which sold nationwide. In 2002, while she was doing environmental consulting for businesses, Bonnie discovered fused glass, a fairly new glass studio material. She immediately, and with faith, bought a large kiln and built a glass-fusing and metal studio in a former big old Wisconsin dairy barn and became self-taught. There she creates large scale wall sculptures, light fixtures, sinks, and aerial sculptures.
About the Artwork: From Toledo, Spain, in the 14th Century, Judah Halevi wrote many prayers in the form of poetry. They often focused in his longing to be in Jerusalem. The fused glass imagery shows a poignant prayer floating from many small, diverse voices (the circular glass elements on the left), through the air, over land and sea to the heart of Israel to where Jerusalem is. Israel is represented on the right by the sparkling glass elements within the shape of Israel. The words are sandblasted in to show their lighter than air quality. They flow as if carried by the wind. Longing to be in Jerusalem is our forever constant as Jews. Personally, my love for that city compelled me to create this piece. Medium: Fused Glass |
"Oh! City of the World" - 20” x 14”
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Judy Snitzer
Judy Snitzer was born in St Paul, Minnesota but has also lived in Israel and Norfolk, Virginia. She moved to St Louis Park, MN, thirty-one years ago. She is trained as a research microbiologist and has acquired much of her art training through volunteer work. She is very proud to have coordinated Torah cover projects at her synagogue. These projects required that she incorporate pieces created by over a dozen members into a unified design that could survive handling during services. She also paints with acrylics, mainly street scenes of Jerusalem, as well as portraits, incorporating biblical texts and street signs into the paintings. Her two sons play fantasy football so she has had the pleasure of making a trophy for the winner of their league. Right now, she is trying to finish the loser’s trophy.
About the Artwork: People emigrated from many countries to create the modern state of Israel. The light fixture is made up of many found objects, some made in Israel and some brought by immigrants to Israel. There are trees created on a background of local Arab embroidery and Israeli Maskit fabric reminiscent of a desert. The letter Ayin, ע, which equals 70, as well as a figurative “ayin,” or eye, represents the number 70. The quote on the light bulb within the fixture reminds us that we have been gathered from the four corners of the world to create something good for the world. My partner Daniella’s tree is very different being made up of strands of wire reflecting the many origins of the population arriving in Israel. The roots of the immigrants are buried deep and extend far out to support them as they intertwine to create the state surrounded by a protective fence. Eventually the tree branches out producing fruits and flowers. The diversity of the Jewish community in Israel creates an atmosphere of both chaos and unity. Medium: Mixed Media/Fabric/Found Objects |
"Light" (2 sided perspective) 30" x 30"
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Susan Weinberg
For the past ten years, Susan Weinberg has focused her artwork on family and cultural history, exploring these themes through painting and narrative. With a deep interest in genealogy, Susan began her exploration with a series of artwork on her own family history. She expanded her focus to the countries from which family came, exploring the Holocaust and pre-war Jewish communities through artwork. In recent years, she developed an oral history project with elders, creating artwork, text and video that captured their stories, telling the story of the broader Jewish community and the three groups of Jewish immigrants who came to the US in the twentieth century. In 2017, she published We Spoke Jewish: A Legacy in Stories, a book of artwork and oral history that grew out of this project. Currently she is developing work around the theme of memory. Susan has done solo exhibitions locally and nationally as well as in Poland and the UK. (webmaster for p2gx.com)
About the Artwork: Irene and I agreed to represent the significance of the passage “Loving peace but knowing how to defend” (from the Declaration of the State of Israel). This expresses the delicate balance between vision and reality. In this work the vision of peace is expressed through a strand of DNA enclosing a quote from Isaiah 2:4 (nation shall not lift up sword against nation) and speaking to God’s call for us to “choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). The flying birdlike scroll, from the first postage stamp with the name of Israel, represents the birth of the new nation. Contrasted with the vision of church, synagogue and mosque, all peacefully co-existing, is the line at the checkpoint, awaiting passage. The checkpoint sits atop a rocky promontory constructed of crushed egg shells representing the lives lost in the Shoah and the rebuilding upon that base of a new life in the State of Israel, albeit, an ever-vigilant existence focused on security.
Although my partner Irene and I approach our artwork differently, we both incorporated eggshells into this artwork. Other echoes were serendipitous. She makes use of the eye to represent vigilance. In my artwork, you will find echoes of the eye form in the composition of town and people and the eye-shaped form of the DNA which houses within it a call for peace, a juxtaposition of both peace and vigilance. The guard tower echoes the form of her cannons. Medium: Mixed Media/Acrylic/ Eggshells |
"Walking on Eggshells" - 24" x 30"
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Rehovot Artists
Zippi Blumenfeld
Zippi Blumenfeld was born in New York in 1959 and made "Aliya" at age nine. She has lived in Israel since then. She is a social psychologist and an artist and focuses mainly on mosaics. She studied art in the Ramat Hasharon Art college (today part of Beit Berl College) while completing her Ph.D. in Psychology (at Bar Ilan University). She also studied mosaics in Ravena Italy. She chose to specialize in mosaics both because of the artistic aspects of this particular medium and the unique cognitive processes that occur when viewing a mosaic piece. A mosaic is made up of a collection of distinct individual pieces, yet the human brain processes and perceives it as an integrated whole. This process requires focus, causing the viewer to concentrate and absorb the work on different levels of cognition. Zippi lives in Rehovot with her family and has six children and three grandchildren.
About the Artwork: My work represents the songs and prayers that express the Jewish people's yearning to return to the Holy Land. We can find expressions of these feelings throughout the Diaspora and even today. In my work, the words of the songs and prayers flow towards Israel's emblem. The emblem is not whole: Even though we are now in our own country, we haven't reached completely our goal: living in peace with our neighbors and within our people. Medium: Mosaics - natural stones and ceramics -- |
"If I Forget You" - 50cm x 70cm
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Daniella Dankner
Daniella Dankner notes that ever since she can remember she was naturally drawn to aesthetics and art. She found herself applying her mind and fingers to different materials such as wood, clay, painting, ceramic, and beads. She always dreamed of having a gallery of her own with multiples artists bringing various interpretation of their perception of art. That is what she does today. For the past six years she has had her own Ithaca Gallery presenting works of 54 artists from all over the country. ‘The way to Ithaca’ was the most rewarding and interesting road she has ever taken. Now one of the roads is leading her with eyes closed to this intriguing project.
About the Artwork: The colored metal roots symbolize the Jews in the Diaspora arriving in Israel from around the world; from different countries and different cultures. The hidden roots provide a solid basis for Jewish existence and, together, they form the path to Israel, the sovereign state of the Jewish people – their spiritual and legitimate center, where they can feel united and hope to feel safe from the anti-Semitism they had been subjected to in the Diaspora. As they did this, they joined together, climbing upward to their new home. Some of them integrated among themselves, while others chose to reestablish their historic cultural identities. Thus they created a new versatile, colorful and challenging fusion, based on powerful faith, full of hope to flourish and to prosper. In a way, this tree of life is reminiscent of our people’s fiery nature; expressing the dynamic and multi-faceted tempests in a country that is full of conflict, security issues and cultural and social pluralism. And despite all the storms and endless fireworks this is our only home … the state of Israel. The homeland of the Jews! ISRAEL IS – REAL. Israel exists. Medium: Wood, Metal wires, iron net, beads and flowers |
"Ingathering of the Exiles" - 60cm (H) x 50cm (W) x 50cm (D)
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Irene Dym
Irene Dym (z"l) was born in Brussels, Belgium and educated in New York City. She immigrated to Israel with her family, settling in Rehovot where she attended art classes with a number of teachers, and studied printing techniques.. She continued formal studies at Bat Yam Institute of Art. In 1981 she became a member of the Tel Aviv Artist’s House. Since her first one-woman show in 1983, Irene has participated in many group shows in Israel and exhibitions in New York and Germany. Irene taught art printing techniques and courses in creativity at the Adult Education center of Rehovot from 1986-2005 and is one of the founding members of The Visual Arts Association where she serves on the management committee and as treasurer. Irene currently works with collage, adding acrylic and markers, often exploring the contrast between humanity’s civilized and primitive sides.
About the Artwork: My partner, Susan, and I decided to use a phrase from the Declaration of the State of Israel as our motif: "loving peace, but knowing how to defend." A circle of cannons is central to the work. In the center is a cannon in whose mouth rests the dream of peace. Matches also form a circle- ever ready to ignite. At the top and bottom of the work are figures representing the people who live here, their vigilance reflected in a central eye. The cannon is an ancient one as are our problems. The use of eggshells symbolizes the loss of life during the Shoah. Susan commented on seeing my work that it reminded her of a "dream catcher" which I now understand is a circular form created by Native Americans to pull good dreams toward the dreamer and to block out the bad. Hopefully the dream of peace will be realized for Israel in the very near future. Medium: serigraph, collage, eggshells, pencil and marker |
"Dream catcher" 50 x 70 cm
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Mazal Elghazar
Mazal Elghazar was born in 1954 to a large family and grew up in Rehovot. She worked as an art teacher for thirty-six years. She became interested in creating her own art four years ago after retirement. The love of creating came to her first when she experienced working with clay and creating ceramics. She also enjoys painting landscapes and copying original paintings such as those of Seurat and Bruegel.
About the Artwork: The work is a symbol of the life of the Jewish People throughout history and their tireless, unending efforts towards the realization of The Promised Land. It describes the vision, the hope, the imagination, the creativity and the determination and the power of the daily war in realizing the vision and in the settlement of the land. The work describes the past, the present and the future that are intertwined with each other without the ability to distinguish and the connection between the people living in Zion and the Jews in the Diaspora. The inspiration for the work comes from God's promise to Jacob on his way to Aram Naharayim: "And all the families on earth shall be blessed in you and in your seed and I will be with you, and I will keep you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land.(Breshet ,28) Medium: kenboss ,acrylic ,barbed wire |
"The Vision of the Promised Land" 50cm x 70cm
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Vertical Divider
Erela Kedem
Erella Kedem was born on Kibbutz Ruchama in the southern part of Israel. Her husband and their four children were born there also. Erella holds a BA in music education and MA in Jewish Art. She had words and tunes, but was looking for colors, which she found in mosaic art. She works and teaches out of her mosaic studio in her home. She creates mosaic works from all kinds of materials including glass, ceramics, and recycled elements.
About the Artwork: The theme is taken from Nomi Shemer’s poem by that name and I gave my own interpretation: The road is “paved" with the Jewish text - the promise that was given to HaDvraham. I believe that the promise is an on going process and it’s for us to to fulfill it! The text is a leading thread that leads us from our past through the present to our future: Let us walk wisely on this beautiful road..... Medium: natural stone, glass, ceramic, sea glass and pieces of gems |
"And the road is going on and on...."
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Sabina Schkolnik Saad
Sabina Schkolnik Saad is a conceptual and multi-disciplinary artist. She was born in Italy where she studied art. She later made Aliyah in 1969. For many years she worked in her own farm on the moshav growing flowers. Twenty-five years ago she returned to art and studied at the Israel Museum. There she fell in love with Judaica and started creating drawings, paintings and paper cuttings. Sabina participates in exhibitions in Israel and around the world. Her work has been recognized by the Ministry of Education and Culture and her painting was printed on a plate that was offered to the late Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin and King Hussein of Jordan in honor of the peace accord between the two countries. Sabina enjoys wandering around in flea markets, buying objects that were of daily use in the past and incorporating them into her work with a different interpretation. (coordinator of P2G)
About the Artwork: I felt connected with Yehuda Halevi's poem " My heart is in the East " which for me symbolizes the essence of our common project,the Jews of Israel and Minneapolis. I used objects I found in flea markets, vintage articles, cords connecting between two hangers symbolizing on one hand our life in Israel and on the other hand, the Jews of the Diaspora and what connects between us. Medium: composition of vintage found objects |
"Interdependent" - 158cm (h) x 45cm (w) x 15cm (d)
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Ori Sasson
Ori Sasson lives and works in Rehovot, Israel. He holds a bachelor's degree from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, the Department of Ceramics and Glass Design. In the past three years Sasson traveled the world and was inspired by different cultures, art and music. His work is characterized by simplicity and by a form of connection to the land and nature. His use of materials is direct and primary, he works according to traditional disciplines and enjoys the creative process as he considers what it is to stand at the center, therefore he focuses less on the final product. Some of his creations are found in the Mendel Collection and are exhibited in various galleries.
About the Artwork: The jug created for this exhibit is of an ancient, classical form. It is used for water and is painted with earth tone colors. The technique used for this artwork is called marbling which mixes material of different shades of color throughout the work process on the wheel. This process produces horizontal and circular lines. The texture and balanced shape of the jug convey the sense of desert tranquility. Medium: terracotta with textured material |
"Desert Landscape" 30cm x 30 cm x 35 cm
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Ruth Uhlmann
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In 1963, Ruth Uhlmann migrated to Israel from Australia, continuing her study of art at several institutions. She has been working in three-dimensional mixed media since the late 1970s. With her “paper works” she cuts, folds, sticks on or presses into, leading to the casting of hand-made paper. Over the last couple of decades, she has moved to installations, mostly small and employing found objects combined with original pieces, often using natural products such as sand, wood, and rocks. Her work often conveys a socio-political message. She has exhibited throughout Israel, in Europe, USA, New Zealand and Australia. She is a member of the Israel Artists’ Association and the Israel Miniatures Association, a founding member of Artin, The Visual Art Association of Rehovet for whom she works as a curator. She has taught art and printmaking to adults and children for over thirty years.
About the Artwork: 70 seeds (pits from Syrian olives) are set into the Star of David, one for each year of Israel's existence and, in good Israeli tradition when decorating a cake with candles, an extra one (hanging from the tree) for the year to come. The two hamsot - adopted symbols denoting Judaism - are holding a section of the world showing Israel in the centre, the world dependent on Judaism, and the claws being a warning against fundamentalism. The tree (an olive branch wrapped in paper fibres) is not only a symbol of peace, but also of the Tree of Life - the Utopian dream that the world will be able to live in peace forever. All issuing from the Torah where it all began. Medium: Paper mache |
"To Life" - 16.9" (w) x 17.3" (d) x 24.8" (h)
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Rivka Uziel
Rivka Uziel was born in Bulgaria. She is married and the mother of four. Rivka originally trained for her career teaching high school, later getting additional degrees from the University of Tel-Aviv studying Hebrew Literature/Bible as well as from the Tel Aviv School of Art. Rivka has been engaged in artistic activities for the past twenty-five years and is a member of the Ugandan Artist Association. She has presented her works in a number of exhibitions. She lectured at the Department of Fine Arts at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda and curates an annual art exhibition of the Makarere University School of Fine Arts. Rivka is a member of the Israel Painters and Sculptors Association, the Israeli Association of Plastic Arts, and the Rehovot Artists Association. Her works decorate public institutions such as the Weismann Institute of Science, and the city halls of Ramla and Rishon Letzion (Israel) and Entebbe Airport, Uganda.
About the Artwork: My choice of the biblical story of the spies was not by chance. It shows the ability of individuals to influence history by standing up for their beliefs and by their perseverance. Most of the spies slandered Israel, but two spies brought proof of all the good in Israel and helped the process of entering Israel. The belief of a few and their perseverance is a symbol for us until this day. They played an important part in the establishment of the State of Israel. Medium: mixed medium acrylic and sand |
"The Spies" - 50cm x70cm
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Cheryl Locketz Veiner
Cheryl Locketz Veiner finds her inspiration in nature and music and is drawn to Jewish content. She has roots in both Minnesota and Israel, having been born in Minnesota where she graduated with an art major from the University of Minnesota. She went on to study art in New York, Milan, and Tel Aviv. In 1980 she made Aliyah with her husband and two daughters. Cheryl has done illustration work in the US and Israel. Today she enjoys working with pastels, oils and watercolor. She exhibits her paintings in Israel and has applied her talents to illustrating a children’s book. Her philosophy is simply "Just Do It." Growing up with disciplined classical musicians taught her to not wait for "The Muse" to show up. (coordinator of P2G)
About the Artwork: This work was inspired by the passage in Deuteronomy 30:19 “...choose life so that you may live, you and your seed.” As we gaze from our miraculous present, while holding hands with our promising future, we carry with us our ancient, living past. In my painting, “our present” is symbolized by the tallit-Israeli flag-draped figure, who holds hands with “our future “ symbolized by the children. Together they go forward with the consciousness of “our past," the antisemitism symbolized by the pyramids of Egypt, J’accuse (Dreyfus trial) and the Holocaust, to the Miracles symbolized by the splitting of the Reed (Red) Sea and to being a “Light Unto Nations” symbolized by the Ten Commandments, the Shabbat (candles) and Jerusalem. The Jewish People chose, are choosing and with God’s help will always Choose Life. Medium: oil on canvas |
"Choosing Life in the Mirror of Time" 50cm x 70cm
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Joelle Zajfman
Joelle Zajfman grew up in France, arriving in Israel in her twenties to study physics. After completing her master's degree in physics and working in research, she turned to art. Her work in sculpture and jewelry design, is influenced by her scientific experience as well as her fascination with the complexity of the forms and structure of the material, from which she finds an infinite repertoire of surprising patterns. Her work in sculpture begins with pencil sketches or clay. Her clay figures are later cast in bronze, often female figures that express the intensity, power and delicacy of the female body. Her jewelry also makes use of sculptural forms. Physical contact with the material as she shapes it with her own hands is an important part of her process as is exploring hidden sides of her own personality.
About the Artwork: As soon as Ann, who is my partner in the “Minneapolis-Rehovot” art project sent me her photographic work, I immediately liked it. It took a very short time for both of us to decide to use the work of each other. In the work displayed here, the black and white background is a photo that Ann took in the Negev desert in Israel. The addition of color on the black and white landscape symbolizes the evolution and development of Israel. The tree on the hill is a picture of one of my sculpture, painted in blue and white, the Israeli flag’s color. The inside part of the tree, depicting the wailing wall, is a reminder of the conflicts taking place in Israel, while the outer part is an attempt to describe the hope suggested by the crossing of the Red Sea. Medium: mixed media: paper, modeling paste, watercolor |
"Landmark - Land marked" 70cm x 47cm
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