The Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga invites the Chattanooga community to view the exhibit Psalms beyond Boundaries at the Jewish Cultural Center, 5461 North Terrace Road in Chattanooga.
This exhibit pairs artists from the Southern United States, including three from Chattanooga, with artists from the Hadera region in Israel, all using the book of Psalms as the content for their art works in all disciplines.
Gallery hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Fridays, or by appointment. The exhibit will be on display through Friday, Sept. 30. There is no cost to attend. For more information about the exhibit, contact Ann Treadwell, program director, at 423-493-0270 or atreadwell@jewishchattanooga.com.
The Book of Psalms is a collection of lyrics that deal with broad range of subjects
concerning the feelings and inner whisperings of people and their community. It is the first book of the Ketuvim, the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. The Psalms are composed in a language that fuses with the prayers recited by Jews throughout the ages, who viewed Psalms as a portal to hope, consolation and salvation offering encouragement and security.
“One sees that despite the differences between the artist pairs, their cultures and their artistic media, a common denominator unites them, inspired by the Book of Psalms.
In preparing their works for the exhibition, the artists were asked to engage in an ongoing
artistic dialogue with their overseas counterparts - to create works that express the
connection between them as well as their link with Jewish sources. The artists met in
virtual online meetings, enabling them to get to know one another and mutually expose
their works. Faced with the need to find a common narrative between two artistic
creations and to span across geographical distances, different time zones, and
differences in language and mentality, the artists grappled with a challenge that taught
them a lesson in tolerance and openness.” said curator Shlomit Hepher of Hadera, Israel.
The three artists from Chattanooga include a mixed media piece by Austin Center, a ceramic platter by Mark Issenberg and an oil on canvas painting my Roslynne Steinberg.
The exhibition is taking place under the auspice of the Partnership2Gether Hadera-Eiron and US Southeast region consortia, which includes Chattanooga, Nashville, and Knoxville, cities in Florida and in South Carolina.
The exhibition was presented in Israel in April 2016. Chattanooga is its first stop before travelling through the U.S to be exhibited in several Southeastern communities. All of the works were created especially for the exhibition and donated by the artists to Partnership2Gether. Throughout the course of the exhibition, the public may purchase its works online, with all proceeds dedicated to the Partnership's continued development and strengthened activity in Israel, officials said.