Ali Spechler “Brooklyn Shtetl”

Hadas Gallery

poster for Ali Spechler “Brooklyn Shtetl”

This event has ended.

Hadas Gallery presents the recent work of painter Ali Spechler.

Move over Marc Chagall, this isn’t Jewish shtetl life! “Brooklyn Shtetl” is a series of contemporary Jewish portraiture by painter Ali Spechler. Her informal paintings underline the complexity and variety of how “Jewishness” is expressed in our modern time.

Spechler’s portraits beam with personality. Her emphasis on character reveals the individual quirks of her subjects. In Ariella and Simcha, she portrays a rabbi distracted by his busy schedule and obligations as he poses with his pregnant wife. A twist on the Van Eyck classic, Arnolfini Wedding Portrait, both husband and wife are independent, strong leaders. Gigi with Tefillin captures a moment of silent devotion of a young Israeli before leaving for the army.

Spechler’s subjects range in mood. Somber, hilarious, confident; she paints personality with all its appeal and flaws. Her paintings play with the seriousness that can overburden religious affiliation “Brooklyn Shtetl” is not the idealized or stereotyped Jewish life canonized in Judaica. This is Jewish life as it exists today.

The people in her paintings are real and relatable. Her portraits challenge the sometimes quirky meshing of religious identity with pop culture.

Media

Schedule

from May 15, 2011 to June 30, 2011

Closing Reception on 2011-06-26 from 14:00 to 17:00

Artist(s)

Ali Spechler

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