Blue Like Me: The Art of Siona BenjaminOctober 15 - January 14, 2010Siona Benjamin is a painter originally from the Bombay Jewish (Bene Israel) community; she now lives in the US. Her rich, colorful paintings reflect the experience of being Jewish in a predominantly Hindu and Muslim India.The Art of StorytellingJune 4 - August 30, 2009Both Russian immigrants, the two artists have similar backgrounds but tell very different stories. Alexandra Rozenman took her first painting lessons at the age of five and earned her Master of Fine Arts from The Museum School/Tufts University in Boston. Currently residing in Minnesota, Rozenman teaches in a wide range of schools using art as a tool for personal growth.
Real Machers: Pat Hamou's portraits of American Jewish Gangsters, 1900-1945February 18—May 17, 2009Macher: pronounced MAKH-er; Yiddish: someone who has connections; a big shot; an “operator.” Pat Hamou is an illustrator and graphic artist living in Montreal, Canada. Using archival images as a springboard, he created intricate, colorful and textured pen and ink drawings that reflect a bygone era. Close to 50 works by Hamou were exhibited in the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery, with another five works in a “teaser” exhibition at the National Museum of Crime and Punishment (575 7th Street NW).
Home PlatesNovember 6—December 13, 2008The Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery partnered with All Fired Up ceramic studios to bring Home Plates to the Gallery. We handed 60 local artists a blank dinner plate to use as their “canvas.” The result was a wonderfully colorful exhibition with ultimate functionality, and a window into the local art scene which is bursting at the seams. In addition, through sales of the plates the Gallery had the opportunity to raise a much-needed portion of its budget. We held a similar fundraiser in 1997 with Continuum, shortly after the Gallery opened its doors. Just as that exhibition highlighted many artists’ interpretations of community and the links between generations in the past and future, our exhibition Home Plates connected the Washington DCJCC to the larger community surrounding it. The remaining Home Plates are currently displayed in the Barbara and Harold Berman JCC Café and are for sale for $100.
Hebraica Mirrors July 1—September 30, 2008Hebraica Mirrors included over 60 fine prints on Arches Vellum and leather parchment, representing the crossroads of contemporary design and traditional Hebrew calligraphy by the French Jewish artist Matatiaou. The universal graphic interpretation was inspired by the Zohar- the direct origin of the Kabbalah, written circa 1300. The exhibition came to us from The Jewish Museum of Florida.
For The Record: A Retrospective of Israeli Album CoversJune 2—August 10, 2008Location: Ina and Jack Kay Community HallA fascinating retrospective exhibition of Israeli album covers which depicted Israeli musicians, cultural and military events, fashions of the day and milestones for the new country. From folk songs to children’s television shows, from army bands to historical speeches, this exhibition was a celebration of Israel’s 60th anniversary.
L(A)TTITUDESFebruary 21—June 2, 2008As a reflection on Israel in its 60th year, this contemporary mapping exhibition focused on Israel and Palestine. The exhibition included work by ten artists from five different countries working with various forms, contents and styles. The artists included: Doug Beube, Avner Bar Hama, Alban Biaussat, Anna Fine Foer, Yoav Galai, Karey Kessler, Joyce Kozloff, Simonetta Moro, Nikolas Schiller, and Mel Watkin.
Inside the Great Synagogue of Aleppo: Photographic selections from Jason Hamacher's forthcoming book, "Aleppo: The Essence of Syria"December 26, 2007—February 18, 2008In the spring of 2006, Jason Hamacher was given a rare opportunity to enter and photograph one of the world’s oldest synagogues, The Great Synagogue of Aleppo, Syria. The Great Synagogue is best known for housing the Aleppo Codex which was once the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible. The synagogue’s foundation dates to King David and has been continually built upon since. “Inside the Great Synagogue of Aleppo” showcases select images from Hamacher’s forthcoming book, Aleppo: The Essence of Syria which aims to reveal Aleppo, Syria’s modern and ancient presence as seen through the eyes of its Christian, Muslim, and Jewish communities.
Reconciling Worlds: The Work of Soviet Artist Yefim LadyzhenskySeptember 6—December 30, 2007Born in Odessa in 1911, Yefim Ladyzhensky was first a scenic designer for plays and films. Later, he created many series of compositions including his temperas inspired by Russian author Isaak Babel’s Red Cavalry; scenes from the Lyublin Cemetery in Moscow; and his naïve, and sometimes humorous, oil painting series entitled: “Growing Up in Odessa.” Once Ladyzhensky immigrated to Israel in 1978, he entered a serious depression and began meditating on his feelings of rootlessness. The art he produced from this time sadly foreshadowed his suicide only a few years after immigration. Through the exhibition of Ladyzhensky’s art, we were able to look though a window into Soviet censorship in the 20th century and the artist’s own feelings of isolation after immigrating to Israel, not always with sorrow, but with a hint of humor and innocence.
Israillustrators 2007Ocotber 6—December 21, 2007The Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival and The Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery teamed up with the Embassy of Israel to present 'Israillustrators 2007.' This colorful banner exhibition, in the The Ina & Jack Kay Community Hall, the Barbara and Harold Berman JCC Café, featured children’s books illustrations by leading Israeli illustrators. Selected works from the exhibition were displayed in Israeli pavilions at international book fairs and at other literary events in 30 countries in Europe, Asia and South America.
The Bedtime Sh'ma: A Goodnight BookJune 21—August 12, 2007Jewish educator Sarah Gershman and artist Kristina Swarner teamed up to create The Bedtime Sh’ma: A Good Night Book. Illustrations from this children’s book, which is based on the liturgy of the Bedtime Sh’ma, a collection of prayers and poems that focus on themes of preparing for sleep. The illustrations were exhibited for the first time at the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery.
5+5: five artists choose five artists to watchFebruary 15—-May 13, 2007To celebrate its 10th anniversary as well as the Washington DCJCC's ongoing commitment to Washington's artistic and cultural community the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery organized an exhibition of ten artists, 5 + 5.
The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in the GardenSeptember 7, 2006—January 7, 2007"The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in The Garden," is a new illuminated manuscript by artist and scribe Debra Band. Band creates unique work in a genre rarely attempted. The biblical book, "Song of Songs," offers some of the most passionate and lasting love poetry in history. In her new visual interpretation, "The Song of Songs: The Honeybee in The Garden," Band simultaneously conveys both human and religious meanings. "The challenge of finding a way to reconcile the literal and allegorical readings of the poetry became something of an obsession," the artist states.
Through Their Eyes: Captured Moments of ChildhoodPhotographs by Godfrey Frankel and Helen LevittJuly 6—August 13, 2006Documentary photography serves to give the viewer insight into the world of the image's subject. In the black and white works of the Jewish photographers Godfrey Frankel and Helen Levitt, the viewer glimpses private moments of childhood through the carefree nature of the subjects while their environments tell of financial struggle or social unrest.
Different Nights: Interpretations of the Seder by Contemporary ArtistsMarch 17—June 18, 2006"Different Nights" refers to a question asked in the Passover Seder: "Why is this night different from all other nights." Illustrations in the Haggadah, from the earliest version to the present, offer not only visualization of the Biblical story, but snapshots of their times-different nights. "Different Nights" pays tribute to the influence of the prominent mid-20th century artist Leonard Baskin (1922-2000) and the continuation of the tradition by Ruth Weisberg, Avner Moriah, Tamar Messer, David Moss, Ben Simon and Barry Ivker, whose work is featured in the exhibition.
Aliza Olmert: tikkun September 18, 2005—January 30, 2006Olmert's series deals with repair. She has signaled that in her title, tikkun, the only verbal clue we are given. Olmert begins with broken eggshells she collects from her local Jerusalem bakery. She performs acts of painstaking repair with careful pinning and joinery of the remains of shells out of which she constructs new formal arrangements.
Jewish Costumes in the Ottoman EmpireMarch 10—May 6, 2005Travel back in time. Visit the Jewish community in the 13th through the early 20th Centuries under Ottoman rule. Far-flung and disparate, Jewish life flourished in Ottoman lands.
Julz Rulz: Inside the Mind of Jules FeifferOctober 11, 2004—January 30, 2005 "JULZ RULZ: Inside the Mind of Jules Feiffer" featured cartoons, watercolors, original manuscripts, book illustrations, and prints. A Cafe display showcases posters from Feiffer's plays. On exhibition for the first time were drawings and the hand-written manuscript for Feiffer's new play, A Bad Friend, and the full-size color drawings for his new children's book, The Daddy Mountain.
Homelands: Baghdad-Jerusalem-New YorkThe Sculpture of Oded HalahmyMarch 7—June 24, 2004Oded Halahmy's s work bears the imprint of his three homelands. "His dynamic and engaging sculptures originate in modernist concerns while paying homage to the art of the ancient near east, and to his personal philosophy of peace and harmony," writes art critic Eleanor Heartley in her catalogue essay. "They exist between abstraction and representation, evoking figures, landscapes, and even at times, still lifes, without ever slipping out of the ideal world of symbol and sign. They are beautiful in a way that blends formal ideas about balance, gravity and proportion with references to ancient traditions that made the whole world a place of praise." and Sculpture Garden (Washington, DC).
Archetype/Anonymous: Biblical Women in Contemporary ArtFebruary—June 2003Paintings, sculptures, mixed media pieces and works on paper that challenge traditional notions of both iconic and unnamed women represented in the Bible. Exhibition was loaned from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Ben Shahn: For All These RightsSeptember—December 2002Paintings and prints by the artist, featuring photographs and other source material for the works. Guest curated by Fulbright Scholar Dr. Laura Katzman, with materials on loan from Maier Museum of Art, Harvard University, and Holocaust Museum, among others.
Portrait of a StateSpring 2002Cosponsored by Embassy of Israel, this traveling exhibit featured work by thirteen artists from the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and was adapted to fit the gallery. Photography, paintings, video, and interdisciplinary art was exhibited.
Narrative Works: The Art of Gerald WartofskyWinter 2002This unique show curated by Liz Diament featured 39 works by this local artist. Paintings and prints were displayed.
Helene Aylon: My Bridal ChamberFall 2001This critically-acclaimed and widely controversial installation on the topic of Jewish cleansing rituals was brought to DC to address the artist's conflicted feelings about Jewish tradition.
I Carry My Roots With Me: Touch points of the Latin American Jewish Diaspora2000This exhibition, featuring such media as poetry, photography, paintings, and collage, highlighted the uniqueness and the universality of the immigrant experience' as related to various Jewish communities throughout Latin America. An accompanying brochure was printed at the time of the exhibition.
Lillo Bartolon: An Artist's Homage to Isaac Bashevis Singer1999A show of paintings cosponsored by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura. Extensive related programming on topics of Yiddish language and literature accompanied this exhibition.
Banned Censored, and SuppressedOctober 1997—February 1998This exhibition is dedicated to those artists – courageous victims of the blacklist – whose relentless struggle for justice continues to inspire. Through film posters, lobby cards, stills and 1940s–1950s memorabilia, the exhibition recalls questions of patriotism and loyalty raised by the Hollywood Ten and others charged with subversive activity in order to find insightful lessons and critical warnings for our present and future. Banned, Censored & Suppressed was funded in part by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, Joanne Woodward Newman, The Newman’s Own Fund and Joseph E. Seagram and Sons, Inc.
Continuum: Memory in Motion July—September 1997A Washington-area artist exhibition juried by acclaimed artist Mindy Weisel. Artists in this show examine cycles, connections and memories- highlighting their many interpretations– as they relate to us as individuals and a community, linking generations past and future.
Urban Diaspora: Reclaiming SpaceJanuary—June, 1997Through poignant photographs, artifacts, and text, Urban Diaspora: Reclaiming Space documents the rise, fall, and reclamation of thirteen historic Jewish spaces throughout the United States. This exhibition challenges visitors to think about their own identity, heritage, and the importance of preserving historic spaces as spiritual connectors to the past and future. Urban Diaspora: Reclaiming Space and its related programs were funded in part by the Humanities Council of Washington, DC, a private, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.