REVISIONS Larry Abramson: Searching for an Ideal City

Prominent Israeli artist and art scholar creates an installation which reflects on the 20th century visual culture idealized image of Jerusalem.

September 12, 2005 - January 8, 2006. The Judah L. Magnes Museum, 2911 Russell St, Berkeley. www.magnes.org,or call 510-549-6950

Photo Exhibit - On the Road to Morocco

Jews have lived in Morocco since ancient times, arriving first as merchants and later as settlers following the destruction of the First and Second Temples. During the period of the Roman conquest, some members of the native Berber population converted to Judaism. Later, Sephardim sought refuge in Morocco after the expulsion from Spain in the late 15th century.

Living in relative harmony with their Berber and Muslim neighbors for more than two millennia, the Jews of Morocco participated in the extraordinary creative collaboration which developed among these cultures. In the 1950s, the majority of the Jewish population immigrated to Israel . In December, 2004, a delegation of major donors from the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco traveled to Morocco to visit the remaining Jews living in Casablanca, Rabat, Fez , Marrakech, and the High Atlas mountains.

Photographs from the trip, enhanced by ritual objects from the Judah L. Magnes Museum collection, celebrate the people, the colors, and the textures of these communities. Exhibit made possible by the Jewish Community Federation.

Co-sponsored by the Judah L. Magnes Museum and JIMENA, Jews Indigenous to the Middle East.

September 22 - December 15, 2005. (Opening Reception: Thursday, September 22, 7:00 - 9:00 PM). At the Jewish Community High School of the Bay of the Bay, 1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco. www.jchsofthebay.org/, or call 415.345.9777

Photo Exhibit - Making the Negev Bloom

Israeli photographer Chanan Getraide roams through the land with his camera capturing the beds of flowers that follow the rainy season and create spring-like carpets filled with endless shapes and colors. Chanan beautifully captures the mysterious beauty of the desert. In his words, "The Negev is very present and very alive, year after year, with its amazing variety of images, appearing in every valley and behind every mountain."

Starting Thursday, November 10, 2005. Temple Beth Jacob, 1550 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Redwood City (www.templebethjacob.org), or call 650-366-8481.

The Art of Shlomo Katz

Biblical stories and Jewish themes come to life in these magnificent rugs hand-made in Pakistan . Finely knotted rugs (256 knots per square inch) use the finest quality New Zealand wool in order to reflect all the details of the original artwork. The rugs’ stunning look is achieved with 40 distinct colors (In comparison: the number of colors in a good quality Persian rug is 18.).

Rugs will be available for purchase during exhibit and at the reception. The inventory is very limited, 1 - 3 pieces from each image and we urge you to come early for the best selection. (Rugs can be made to order but minimum production time is one year.)  Though not inexpensive, these rugs are very prestigious, decorating private and public collections across the US as well as the new building of the Supreme Court of Israel.

September 1 - November 4, 2005. The Isaacs Gallery in the Renbaum Lounge, Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael. Info: http://www.marinjcc.org, or call 415.444.8000.

Israeli Festival of the Arts

Featuring original oil paintings, watercolors, lithographs and etchings. This exhibition and sale will include 2500 works of art by 110 Israeli artists.

In collaboration with the Consulate General of Israel, San Francisco.

Thursday, February 23 - Sunday, February 26, 2006.
Peninsula Temple Sholom. 1655 Sebastian Drive, Burlingame. 650-697-2266.

Thursday, February 23 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Open Exhibition and Sale: sumptuous wine and cheese reception.

Adi Ness and others at "The Art of Living: Contemporary Works from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem"

Acclaimed Israeli Photographer Adi Nes coming to Bay Area. Nes will be available to give artist presentations between March 27 and April 5.

This exhibition created especially for The Contemporary Jewish Museum features the most dynamic, engaging, thoughtful and contemporary art created by Israeli artists over the past five years.

Click for more about Adi Nes

Other artists include Yael Bartana, Barry Frydlender, Idit Greenberg, Michal Heimann, Noel Jabbour, Vardi Kahana, Roi Kuper, Adi Nes, Sharon Paz, Eyal Perry & Lital Dotan, Hanna Saar, Naomi Tereza Salmon, Tal Shochat, Igael Shem Tov, Sharon Yaari, Amon Yariv, Oded Yedaya, Noa Zayit.

Through their photographs and video, the selected artists depict a diverse art practice that extends beyond issues of contested politics and political identity, to open new portals of understanding on Israeli cultural and artistic life.

Exhibit dates: April 4 - July 30. The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.121 Steuart Street (between Mission and Howard streets) in San Francisco. Sunday – Thursday, 12 noon – 6 pm. www.thecjm.org, or call 415-344-8800.
Co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel in San Francisco, and the Contemporary Jewish Museum

Special Opening Week Programs for Art of Living: Contemporary Photography and Video from the Israel Museum. All events held at: The Contemporary Jewish Museum, 121 Steuart Street, San Francisco

Monday, April 3, 6:00 pm. Join The Contemporary Jewish Museum now to receive an invitation to this exclusive preview! Meet Israel Museum Director James S. Snyder, Curator Nissan Perez and several participating artists at this opening event. Call 415.344.8822 to find out more about the benefits of museum membership.

Tuesday, April 4, 6:00 pm. FREE. Moderated by Contemporary Jewish Museum Director Connie Wolf . Join us for an intimate look at Israel’s thriving artistic community with special guests Adi Nes and Oded Yedaya. Their artwork explores the complexities of contemporary Israeli life by bringing to the forefront issues such as homelessness and poverty, borderlines and political activism. In the panel, Nes and Yedaya will discuss the evolution of Israel’s Contemporary Art scene, their own unique artistic processes, and what it is like to be an artist living and working in Israel today. Visitors are encouraged to view Art of Living before the panel begins. Afterwards, visitors are invited to join the artists in the Gallery for further discussion. Refreshments will be provided. RSVP to 415.344.8810 or tours@thecjm.org.
Co-sponsored by The Consulate General of Israel and The Israel Center.

April 5. Free!
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Café Ve’Ivrit in Hebrew - artist talk and slideshow of his work. In a special program with Café Ve’ivrit, Adi Nes will give a slide presentation in Hebrew about his photographic work. Café Ve’ivrit participants are then invited to join Nes in the Museum’s gallery at 7:00 pm to learn more about his works featured in Art of Living. (This portion of the program will be in English.) Please see below for more information. Space is limited. RSVP to 415.344.8810 or tours@thecjm.org.
Co-presented with the Israeli House of the Israeli Consulate and TZAVTA of the Israel Center
7:00 pm: reception and gallery walk in English with Adi Ness (notice location change). Adi Nes will guide visitors through the exhibition and speak about his photographs featured in Art of Living. As one of Israel’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Nes has garnered international recognition for his striking and politically charged depictions of Israeli life. He will also address how his recent works deal with the issues of poverty and social justice in Israel. Refreshments will be provided. Space is limited. RSVP to 415.344.8810 or tours@thecjm.org.
Co-hosted by The New Israel Fund’s New Generations
Co-sponsored by The Consulate General of Israel, Tzavta of The Israel Center and Congregation Sha’ar Zahav
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Israel: the Cartoonists' Diagnosis, A View Point From Within. Top cartoonists take a critical look at Israel of today

Click for Israel Center's greeting & cartoon samples...

Click for Jewish Weekly 2003 article on Kichka...

Israeli artist and cartoonist - Michel Kichka - organized Israel's top cartoonists take a critical look at Israel of today.

Israeli cartoonists are probably among the luckiest cartoonists in the world. Their subject and working zone is one of the most fertile both in terms of content and in its world-wide media exposure and relevance to our times. The challenge in the Israeli cartoon scene is not to find work but to deliver the sharpest, wittiest and most provoking reading of Israel’s complex affairs so much that the published cartoon serves an equivalent amount of political role as a delegate’s political speech, a street riot, a head article in the number one newspaper, a newscast, or a political campaign.

As always, Israel today is in critical times; critical to itself and to the world at large. Being the hot spot of world-wide attention and debate, it seems now to be one of the major roots and core places for the biggest issues the world is now dealing with: Tension between the west and the Arab world, war on terrorism, attempt at Peace agreements, occupation, right to self defense, civil protest, military service, disengagement, separation wall, democracy, religion and state, and more.

The power of art & humor operating as a serious social discourse in Israel
The beauty of the Israeli political cartoon, as in all political cartoons, is the space it allows to deal with highly sensitive political and social issues in a treatment of humor, naughtiness and silliness. In ways the published political cartoon is a demonstration of democracy, with the cartoon being a medium of critic, exaggeration, and satire attacking and responding to contemporary political affairs. Israel is a culturally political country. Politics is imbedded in each and every aspect of Israeli life. Since its creation to this day Israel is in a ongoing identity definition process. This has created a social mentality of constant internal observation and critic (practiced by academics, politics, the arts, and by citizens of all ages in many forms), striving to establish an unattainable whole that can be called Israel , or Israeli identity.

In Israel even babies have something to say
There are no two Israelis that think alike, Israel is a country of true civil debate practicing a constant internal criticism on a daily basis in true exhaustion from trying to find solutions to Israel ’s endless internal and external conflicts. It is crucial to dissolve the false impression (we so often get from the media- which is sadly Israel’s number one ‘reflector’) that Israel’s nationality is one unified flag of one political slogan- to believe so is complete ignorance. In this exhibition we get a rare chance to see a beautiful reflection of this juicy internal observation- the fascinating phenomenon of an artistic political manifest. We get a chance to hear about Israel from its true components, speaking the voice of a country- the voice of Culture: A voice much more reliable in reflecting the complexity of a people and their thirst to fix and mend their own reality and the reality of the world surrounding them. In many ways the cartoon printed in the middle of a newspaper article, is like a cleaner mirror of reality supporting, highlighting or sometimes de-legitimizing the text.

Cartoonist depicting the contemporary Israeli landscape
The cartoonists featured in the show are the top in Israel , representing Israel all over the world and published by Israel ’s leading newspapers, magazines, various alternative press, and TV newscasts- yes! Israel even has a popular political cartoon forum on TV where the artist comes on the set and on the spot responds to the freshest affairs with a live cartoon (Clips can be screened as part of the exhibition).

Exhibit dates: February 1 - April 9, 2006. At the Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission St., San Francisco. www.cartoonart.org. Phone: 415.243.8666 / 415.CAR.TOON.

February 6 - 27, 2006. On display at the Bureau of Jewish Education 639 14th Ave., San Francisco. Please call to schedule a visit, Vavi Toran, Israel Education Initiative, 415.751.6983 #133

Monday, February 6, 7:00 - 8:30 pm. Speaker Series for Educators: Michel Kichka & Israeli Cartoon Exhibition Gallery Walk and Talk. Bureau of Jewish Education, 639 14th Avenue, San Francisco. Invite parents, lay people, faculty and colleagues! Light fare will be served.

Wednesday, February 8, 4:00 pm. Academy of Art University, 79 New Montgomery, San Francisco. 415.274.8641. Co-Sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel.

Saturday, February 11, 8:00 pm. In Hebrew. Congregation Beth Am. 26790 Arastradero Rd., Los Alto Hills. 650.493.4661. Co-Sponsored with the Israeli House of the Israeli Consulate.

Monday, February 13, 7:00 pm. Congregation Beth El. 1301 Oxford St., Berkeley. 510.848.3988.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006. 7:00 pm. Opening & Talk: At the Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission St., San Francisco. www.cartoonart.org. Phone: 415.243.8666 / 415.CAR.TOON. FREE!

See Michel Kichka's work as part of this show: “Why Do They Hate U.S.?”. An International Perspective on American Politics and Culture
http://www.cartoonart.org/

Israeli Artists Present

An exciting art exhibition and sale featuring Israeli Artists working in the Bay Area. Complemented by Israeli wine tasting and display of various Israeli crafts.

Featured artists: Sagi Erez, Ewa Gavrielov, Ori Gerstel, Pola Harrel, Itzik Hazan.

Sunday April 2, 2006. 6:00 - 9:00 pm.Yavneh Day School. The Gloria and Ken Levy Family Campus. 14855 Oka Rd, Los Gatos.

The Art of Living: Contemporary Works from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem

This exhibition created especially for The Contemporary Jewish Museum features the most dynamic, engaging, thoughtful and contemporary art created by Israeli artists over the past five years.

Artists include Yael Bartana, Barry Frydlender, Idit Greenberg, Michal Heimann, Noel Jabbour, Vardi Kahana, Roi Kuper, Adi Nes, Sharon Paz, Eyal Perry & Lital Dotan, Hanna Saar, Naomi Tereza Salmon, Tal Shochat, Igael Shem Tov, Sharon Yaari, Amon Yariv, Oded Yedaya, Noa Zayit.

Through their photographs and video, the selected artists depict a diverse art practice that extends beyond issues of contested politics and political identity, to open new portals of understanding on Israeli cultural and artistic life.

April 4 - July 30, 2006. The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco.121 Steuart Street (between Mission and Howard streets) in San Francisco. Sunday – Thursday, 12 noon – 6 pm. www.thecjm.org, or call 415-344-8800.

Our Country (Ha'Aretz Shelanu)

Critically acclaimed photojournalist Alex Levac's collection of photographs revealing a unique angle of Israeli daily life.

More about the exhibition

April – June, 2006: the Center for Race and Ethnicity Library, Bld. 40, Stanford.

For hosting the exhibit: The Israeli Consulate at 415.844.7504