From the migration of fish to the cultivation and branding of new citrus varietals, Benbenisty’s practice tracks seemingly natural phenomena while questioning their political and ecological ramifications.
Contemporary Jewish Culture
Posted inArt
Josefina Auslender’s Portraits of Argentina’s Dirty War
Auslender’s art brings personal associations and a sense of intimacy to images of torture based on the crimes of Argentina’s ruling junta from 1974 to 1983.
Posted inArt
Dancing to the Borscht Beat
Aaron Bendich draws from his massive collection of Yiddish records to share an hour of otherwise hidden music on his radio show Borscht Beat. Recently, he also launched an independent Yiddish record label.
Posted inBooks
God Just Wants Us to Love Her Back
In a new graphic novel, author and cartoonist Liana Finck recasts the famously vengeful and masculine biblical God as an insecure and emotional female deity.
Posted inArt
A Contemporary Look at Judaica
Artist Zsuzsa Ujj carries the tradition of handcrafted Hungarian ceremonial Jewish artwork to the 21st century.
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Judy Chicago’s Wo/Manhouse 2022 Could Use Some More Diversity
Although more inclusive than the original 1972 Womanhouse, the current remake would still benefit from more BIPOC artists, a broader intersectional dialogue, and a wider breadth of lived experience.
Posted inArt
An Artist’s Exploration of His Family’s Crypto-Jewish Origins
Brazilian American artist Jônatas Chimen Dias DaSilva-Benayon explores his complex family history in irreverent, heavily researched work.
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Mapping Out “Refugee Modernism” at the Venice Biennale
Yiddishland Pavilion artists Yevgeniy Fiks, Avia Moore, and others effectively question the borders that continue to define the art world.
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At the Venice Biennale, a Border-Defying Yiddishland Pavilion
Yiddishland is a porous and generative project that threads itself through various pavilions, subtly undermining the national logic of the biennale.
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Reviving the Lost Craft of Jewish Papercuts
Anna Kronick is one of very few Judaic paper cutters practicing today, with a highly contemporary body of work that breathes new life into the sacred tradition.
Posted inArt
Olivia Guterson Carries Ancestral Patterns Into Contemporary Art
The Detroit-based artist draws from her Russian, Ukrainian, Jewish, and African American roots to create a dazzling new ornamental language.
Posted inArt
Let’s Make Noise for Abortion Rights
On the day of the Supreme Court’s decision to undo 50 years of constitutional rights to abortion, artist Elana Mann’s “protest rattles” feel especially poignant and urgent.