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The JAI is an artist-run organization committed to fostering visual art by Jewish artists and promoting dialogue about Jewish identity and related issues among members of the arts community.
Mission and History
JAI was originally conceived by the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles in partnership with the University of Southern California Casden Institute and the USC Roski School of Fine Arts.
Learn about our past and our plans for the future.
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George Billis Gallery LA
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
T: 310-838-3685
F: 310-838-3438
Between Washington & Venice on S. La Cienega Blvd. in the Culver City art district.
Visit our New York City gallery located in the heart of the Chelsea Art District.
BODY AND SOUL, an exhibition of paintings by Kathryn Jacobi, Margaret Lazzari, and Galya Pillin Tarmu will be on view at American Jewish University’s Platt and Borstein Galleries from January 31, 2010 through April 28, 2010. The public is invited to meet the artists at a free opening reception on Sunday, January 31st from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Curated by Elizabeth Bloom and Annette Bird
Kathryn Jacobi, a member of JAI, inspired by the painters of the Northern Renaissance, describes herself as a contemporary realist artist. Her powerful work is an expression of her relationship to the inhabitants of her world.
Margaret Lazzari, art faculty member at University of Southern California, often uses an autobiographical source in her drawings and paintings. She finds that her self portraits lead toward understanding and self discovery.
Galya Pillin Tarmu, born and educated in Chicago, spent many years in Israel. Her paintings reflect a world that has undergone estrangement, where sometimes the grotesque plays an essential role. Through metaphor the figures reveal her pre-occupation with the human condition.
American Jewish University is located at 15600 Mulholland adjacent to the 405 Freeway, in the Sepulveda Art Corridor near the Skirball CulturalCenter. The galleries are handicapped accessible and parking is free.
For further information call 310-476-9777 ext. 201
ArtScene Review - the Guide to Art Galleries and Museums in Southern California
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion/LA
3077 University Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90007
January 18 - May 31, 2010
Artist’s Reception: Sunday, March 14, 3:30-5 pm (FREE)
Opening Remarks: 4:00 pm
RSVP: (213) 765-2106 or dsauerwald@huc.edu
The Jewish Artists Initiative (JAI) and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion/Los Angeles are pleased to present “Ruth Weisberg: Drawings from The Open Door Haggadah”. In 2002, Weisberg and editor Rabbi Sue Levi Elwell collaborated on The Open Door Haggadah, published by the Central Conference of America Rabbis. Weisberg’s drawings explore both the Exodus from Egypt as well as modern day celebrations of the holiday. Sixteen drawings and monotypes as well as the Haggadah itself will be on view at Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion/ Los Angeles from January 19th till May 31st, 2010.
Weisberg’s drawings present the traditional Jewish narrative as well as highlight a feminist perspective of Passover. The work will be displayed side by side with accompanying texts from The Open Door Haggadah. Through this work, Weisberg fulfills the Judaic value of hiddur mitzvah, the beautification of the commandment.
Bakersfield Museum of Art
December 10, 2009 - February 21, 2010
Hobos to Street People: Artists' Responses to Homelessness from the New Deal to the Present
...is a traveling exhibit featuring the works of 30 artists working over the last 75 years to document the tragedy of homelessness. Through painting, printmaking, photography, and mixed media, Depression-era and contemporary artists offer glimpses of life on the street and show many similarities between the eras.
Exhibit curator Art Hazelwood says that "some of the artists in this exhibition personally experienced homelessness and poverty, some worked directly with organizations to combat poverty, but all of them felt that art could be used to focus attention on homelessness. The idea that art can have a function in society by engaging in a struggle for a better world, and that everyone should take an interest in the well-being of less fortunate people are the twin beliefs of the artists in this show."
The exhibitions illustrate artistic interpretations of homelessness during a 75 year span from the Dust Bowl migrants of the 1930s to the street people of today with emphasis on California. The art and artists illuminate displacement both in noble and negative images.
No Place to Go: Paintings of the Homeless by Pat Berger is a compilation by the Los Angeles artist who spent over five years in the 1980s on skid row in Los Angeles, making a statement through paintings to bring attention to the issue of homelessness.
The exhibits open with a reception on December 10 at 6 p.m.
Bakersfield Museum of Art 1930 R Street Bakersfield, CA 93301 (661) 323-7219
Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10am-4pm; Saturday-Sunday 12-4pm; closed Monday and holidays
Admission: Members - Free, Adults - $5.00, Seniors (65+) - $4.00, Students - $2.00
Every third Friday of the month, all admission FREE!
Every second Sunday of the month, all seniors (65 and up) admission FREE!
