Art Exhibits

Philanthropist Harold Grinspoon envisioned this project—a series of posters for display in Jewish organizations and institutions—more than a decade ago. In 2012, the Grinspoon Foundation introduced Voices & Visions with the release of its debut Masters Series, pairing leading figures of contemporary art and design with powerful quotes from Jewish thinkers across the ages. In 2015, a second series Proudly Jewish was published with posters that exemplify the values and ideas Judaism teaches. In 2017, Frames of Minds series was released that focused on Passover themes. In 2020, the Wall of Fame series was published, celebrating Jewish figures who have transformed the world at large.

This exhibit is a collection of posters from all of the series and was gifted to Judea Reform Congregation over the years from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. You can learn about this project at www.voices-visions.org.

Galia Goodman uses papercutting, calligraphy, and collage to bring forth the spirits of life events, the wonders of nature, and the words of the wise. Galia is internationally known for her Ketubot (Jewish wedding documents) and is the illustrator of The Promise of the Land: A Passover Haggadah that weaves the earth and land into the traditional blessings and rituals written by Rabbi Ellen Bernstein. Galia has several pieces in the art collection of Judea Reform Congregation, as well as congregations and personal collections worldwide.

Galia has lived in Durham, NC for over 40 years. She is a spiritually committed Reconstructionist Jew, who deepened her understanding of Judaism through study with Rabbi Steve Sager, z”l; many of these are reflections of her learning with him.

Other artists in “A New Spirit” include: Kathryn DeMarco (painting), Michelle Minah (painting), Steve Herman (wood) & Jennifer Potts (wood)

The Rosenzweig Gallery features an exhibit of Judea Reform Congregation members this fall. This exhibit will be on display from September 7 through December 17, 2023. Thank you to our Judea Reform artists for their creative expressions of all the ways "we gather together in peace." Each unique piece is the visual representations of communal, spiritual, and inner peace. Our artists used photography, painting, textiles, collage, ceramics, and pencil to demonstrate how "we gather in peace."

Artists: Gale Adland, Farley Bernholz, Bill Blau, Susan Elinoff, Susan Feldblum, Daniel Freed, Cora Harrison, Paul Harrison, Anna S. Klein, Sara Krome, Deb G. Levin, Barbara Levy, Elena Lowinger, Meredith Mayer, Ellen Newman, Donna Rabiner, Carol Retsch-Bogart, Joyce Rose Romm, Carol Rosenfeld, Paula Sloan, Barbara Silver, Karen West, Susan Zeisel.

Curated by congregant Gabrielle Rousso, “Contemporary Landscapes of Jewish Life” is an exhibition of contemporary art from congregants’ private collections that depicts a wide range of experiences or “landscapes” of Jewish life, places, or scenarios.

Dori Jalazo is a renowned mixed media artist recognized for the healing spirit of her work. Dori's paintings, sculptures, mixed media, and Judaica use  bold, expressive, and vibrant color. Her art is a vehicle to transform pain into beauty, trauma into art, and to bring healing. Interwoven throughout Dori’s work are Jewish sacred themes; she also creates works of Judaica, drawing on imagery and forms that come from Jewish ritual objects. Dori's work is in public and private collections worldwide. Dori lives in Chapel Hill, NC.

To learn more about Dori, please visit her website. 

From the Artist: About the Work

“In the changing shapes our journeys take, there are times when life takes a sharp turn. Who am I now? becomes a sacred question.  A new place in life for many with children moved on. We grew up in a world not far removed from Ellis Island where families lived within blocks of each other, generations stayed close. And I thank God to be part of that again. Now I live in Chapel Hill I can see Ms. Liberty welcoming ancestors, and me. All of us tired from the Journey but excited to be here. I love the new works coming through me. Thank you for letting me share them with you in this show."

From the Artist: My Story as An Artist

"I work with an open heart to create meaning in the world, to give to the larger family of humankind. There is healing in knowing Life is a Universal Journey and each of us can start the ripples of kindness and peace. My work is in private and public collections throughout the world, including those of the late Elie Wiesel (z”l), Henry Winkler, Harry Connick Jr., Dr. Ruth, Dr. Bernie Siegel, and Joshua Malina. When speaking of my work, Henry Winkler said 'you put kindness in my Life, the art was so beautiful that the spirit jumped right out of the box.'  I welcome you to my world."

Red Flower #1 by Paul Harrison

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Judea Reform staff asked congregants to keep us informed of artwork they were making as a way to bring light into this dark time.  Thanks to all the Judea Reform congregants who shared their vision, beauty, humor, and ingenuity.  

Artwork by Edith London

The Judea Reform Rosenzweig Gallery is honored to exhibit "3 Inspired Voices" featuring the work of three artists who all lived in Durham as contemporaries (at some point in their lives) and were powerfully and uniquely woven into the fabric of our Jewish community.  Featuring the tapestries of Silvia Heyden, z"l, the paintings of Edith London, z"l, and books and handmade Judaica of Rabbi Efraim Rosenzweig, z"l, these artists enduring work and blessed memories are a beautiful part of a past that is still with us here in Durham and at Judea Reform Congregation.

Edith London, German by birth, and Silvia Heyden, who is Swiss, met in Durham because their spouses were recruited to work at Duke University—Fritz London in physics and Siegfried Heyden in medicine. The two artists, while working in very different media, became instant friends and colleagues and shared a modernist aesthetic rooted in the Bauhaus tradition. Silvia Heyden and Edith London had already laid the groundwork for their careers in Europe. Both  artists found their individual voices as they worked and lived in Durham from the 1950s on. In 2014 an exhibit at the Durham Arts Council entitled “Together Again” paired Heyden’s tapestries with the paintings of London under the curatorial eye of Lee Hansley who represented both artists at his gallery in Raleigh. Rabbi Efriam Rosenzweig, Judea Reform Congregation’s founding Rabbi in 1962,  was also an accomplished artist and carpenter, working in slate, metals, and wood. Rabbi Rosenzweig started a business called “Judaica Originals and Reproductions” to make and sell art items. He was a contemporary of Edith London and Silvia Heyden in Durham, North Carolina.

Silvia Heyden, z”l (1927-2015), was born in Switzerland and studied in the School of Arts in Zurich from 1948-1953 under the Bauhaus tradition and led by the famous designer Johannes Itten. She moved to the United States in 1954 with her husband, Dr. Sigfried Heyden, and to Durham, NC in 1966 with her family. Silvia was a world-renowned tapestry artist who explored color and composition in her hundreds of tapestries.  In 2006, Silvia wove an original Ark cover for the former Judea Reform Congregation building. That weaving and Ark cover is now in the Bossen Family Library. In 2009, Silvia was commissioned to create tapestry doors for Judea’s portable Ark used in the Levin Social Hall for High Holy Days. In 2011, a documentary “A Weaverly Path: The Tapestry Life of Silvia Heyden,” was made about Silvia’s art and life.  She explored her voice and art until her death in Durham in 2015.

Edith London, z”l, (1904-1997), was born in Berlin where her exposure to art began as a child; her extended family included writers and sculptors, who enjoyed the cultural milieu of the Weimar Republic; she attended the University of Berlin; took classes at Berlin’s Federation of Women Artists; and was introduced to the work of Henri Matisse. She married a noted theoretical physicist, Fritz London, in 1929 and in 1933 they fled Germany to Oxford, England, and subsequently lived in Paris from 1936-1939, where Edith studied art under renowned French painters Marcel Gromaire and Andre Lhote. Fritz London became one of many refugee scientists who immigrated to the United States and the young family settled in Durham, NC in 1939. From 1955—1969, Edith worked as the slide curator in the Art History Department of Duke University She returned to Duke University in 1979 to teach Studio Art. From 1966 to 1991, she had over 20 solo exhibitions of her work, and her paintings and collages. In 1998, Judea Reform Congregation received a generous donation of an Edith London painting for our permanent collection; this “untitled” piece now hangs in the Bossen Family Library.

Rabbi Efraim Rosenzweig—affectionately named “Ef”—was Judea Reform Congregation’s founding Rabbi in 1962 (after leading UNC’s Hillel for 10 years). He brought his dynamic, progressive, inspired, learned, and devoted leadership to Judea Reform Congregation. He had boundless energy and served as secretary, cantor, administrator, and rabbinic leader for those early years. And he had many talents beyond his rabbinic leadership. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute, wrote books of poetry, and was an accomplished artist and carpenter, working in slate, metals, and wood. Rabbi Rosenzweig started a business called “Judaica Originals and Reproductions” to make and sell art items. 

Special thanks to Frank and Carol London, Rose London, Francoise Heyden, Richard Fry, Daniel Heyden, and Rabbi John S. Friedman and Judea Reform Congregation's Arts & Acquisition Committee