Painter and sculptor Nira Savir, of Kiryat Gat, will be featured in an exhibition called Two Artists, One Goat: Frank Stella, Nira Savir and the Had Gadya in Chicago beginning September 30. The exhibition, at the largest Jewish museum between California and New York, Spertus Museum (www.Spertus.edu), is a look at the popular Had Gadya song from the conclusion of the Pesach seder. The song, detailing the travails of the people of Israel through the allegory of a little goat, is portrayed in the exhibition by acclaimed abstract artist Frank Stella and Israeli painter Nira Savir.
Frank Stella?s Had Gadya work, shown courtesy of Art Enterprises, Ltd., was developed over a two year period, due to the complex methods he employed. When they were seen in Tel Aviv by Savir, the Israeli artist was inspired to work with the Passover theme herself. Stella?s pieces were also the result of inspiration by a series of illustrations created in 1919 by Russian artist/illustrator El Lissitzky (1890 ? 1941). The Lissitzky Had Gadya images will also be featured at the Spertus exhibit, along with items from the museum?s own collection.
Nira Savir encompasses nature in all her work, using a wealth of techniques and materials, described as ?expressionist abstractions?. The museum reports that Nira Savir?s work comes to Chicago through the auspices of Partnership 2000, a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel that partners Diaspora communities with underdeveloped regions in Israel. Chicago and the JUF are partnered with the towns of Kiryat Gat, Lachish and Shafir, located in Israel's northern Negev. This exhibition is also funded in part through a CityArts4 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and through the support of the Illinois Arts Council and the Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation.
Frank Stella?s Had Gadya work, shown courtesy of Art Enterprises, Ltd., was developed over a two year period, due to the complex methods he employed. When they were seen in Tel Aviv by Savir, the Israeli artist was inspired to work with the Passover theme herself. Stella?s pieces were also the result of inspiration by a series of illustrations created in 1919 by Russian artist/illustrator El Lissitzky (1890 ? 1941). The Lissitzky Had Gadya images will also be featured at the Spertus exhibit, along with items from the museum?s own collection.
Nira Savir encompasses nature in all her work, using a wealth of techniques and materials, described as ?expressionist abstractions?. The museum reports that Nira Savir?s work comes to Chicago through the auspices of Partnership 2000, a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel that partners Diaspora communities with underdeveloped regions in Israel. Chicago and the JUF are partnered with the towns of Kiryat Gat, Lachish and Shafir, located in Israel's northern Negev. This exhibition is also funded in part through a CityArts4 grant from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and through the support of the Illinois Arts Council and the Mayer & Morris Kaplan Family Foundation.