Exhibition will feature 14 artists in honor of Jewish-American Heritage Month

Mayor Kenson Siver and the Southfield Public Arts Commission will host Perspectives: Jewish American Artists opening reception and public art exhibition on Thursday, May 16 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. featuring 14 Michigan-based Jewish artists in recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month at the Southfield City Hall Main Lobby, 26000 Evergreen Road. The event is free and open to the public.

The exhibition of work will be on display in the main lobby of Southfield City Hall until July 31 featuring: Sarah Rose Sharp, Michael Daitch, Robert Schefman, Richard Halprin, Talia Abrams, Mark Schlussel, Joy Levran, Faina Lerman, Deborah Kashdan, Madeline Zimberg, Deborah Friedman, Michelle Sider, Yehuda Zacks, and Aliza Sosne.

The opening reception will feature a special music performance by Emily Rose, a Detroit-based singer-songwriter. Rose crafts songs from a place of compassion and curiosity. With a dulcet-toned voice and a volume of stories to tell, she performs as a solo artist and collaborator with a dedicated following on stages across Southern Michigan and beyond. She will be performing songs from the Jewish American songbook and more. Currently, Rose hosts a monthly show honoring the legacy of departed artists called Ghost Night at the Ghost Light.

The Southfield Public Arts Commission curates new exhibits of local artists' work quarterly.  This special exhibition of 14 Jewish American artists is the first of its kind for Southfield. “This is something the Commission has talked about as a way to network, promote diversity and inclusion, outreach to the community and support local artists,” commented Southfield Public Arts Commission Chairperson Delores Flagg. “We know that there are a lot of great artists in the city of Southfield and the metro area. They just need a platform and we’re just providing them a showcase for their work.  We know the importance of showcasing art and artists. It a win-win situation for everyone.”

Deborah Friedman

Website: www.deborahfriedman.com
Born and educated in Detroit. Friedman knew from an early age that she was an artist. She was educated at Cass Technical High School, and received her MFA in printmaking at Wayne State University which enabled her to think about the work she was creating. She had always worked without a plan preferring the excitement of exploring each composition as she works toward a workable solution. Friedman has shown her work in many venues both in Detroit and nationally. Many of her works have been purchased privately. Corporations such as Greektown Casino Hotel, the Detroit Chamber of Commerce, Deloitte and numerous others hold her work in their collections. Friedman has taught at Oakland Community College and the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center.

Artist statement: “The Diversity series of work is the result of creating order out of confusion. The challenge in starting with an unplanned idea is finding balance in an ever-changing composition. The excitement of the emerging composition propels the work forward using the consistency of line and, often circular, shape to achieve the desired visual stability. The Seagrape Leaves series is an extension of myself. Their variation and imperfections represent how I view myself, disorganized at times but in tune with nature’s daily evolving beauty. There is an awareness on my part that I am creating an environment or escapes to other places in my work. These images require intense concentration, so much so, that when a piece is completed, it is as though I am returning from an extended trip to another place and time. My studio is my loyal friend, always there, where most things eventually make sense. She is in charge, in control, for better or worse. The colors, smells, the work, both mess and order, are all a part of me and all contribute to me being an artist.” 

Joy Levran

Instagram: www.instagram.com/joylevranart
Always having a creative spirit, as a young child Levran was drawn to all thing’s art and design.  Levran’s early artistic inclinations were nurtured by her family who encouraged self-expression. 

During the last 20 years, she has studied with numerous teachers, and has used many mediums, including watercolor, soft pastel, and photography. Levran currently concentrates on acrylic paints and her paintings have become increasingly introspective and emotive. She aims to evoke a sense of wonder and connection through abstract expressionism. Levran has participated in many workshops to learn more skills in various cities, including NYC and San Francisco. Over the years Levran has been honored to have her work featured in art exhibitions and private collections across the country. Her work can be viewed on her Instagram site @joylevranart.

Artist statement: “My art is a visceral exploration of the human experience conveyed through the dynamic interplay of color, texture, and emotions.  Using the fluid medium of both acrylic paint and mixed media, I strive to capture an emotional pull that transcends the boundaries of conventional representative art.”

Yehuda Zacks

Yehuda Zacks is 13 years old and attends 8th grade at Yeshiva Beth Yehuda. He learned the art of papercutting from his bubbie (grandmother) who lives in Jerusalem, Israel. In addition to papercutting, Zacks loves learning, and enjoys playing piano, hockey, and baseball.

Sarah Rose Sharp

Website: https://www.sarahrosesharp.com/
Sarah Rose Sharp is a writer, photographer and multimedia artist. Sharp has served as guest curator and juror for institutions including Penn State University, Scarab Club, The Terhune Gallery, and The Ann Arbor Art Center. Sharp has shown her work in New York, Seattle, Columbus & Toledo, OH, Covington, KY, and Detroit—including at the Detroit Institute of Arts—with solo shows at Simone De Sousa Gallery and Public Pool. Sharp is primarily concerned with artist and viewer experiences of making and engaging with art.

Sharp writes about art and culture for a number of print and online venues. Sharp was a 2015 Kresge Literary Arts Fellow for Art Criticism and is a 2018 recipient of the Rabkin Foundation Prize. She is a guest lecturer at several universities in Southeast Michigan and served as a mentor in the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentorship Program in 2018. 

Michael Daitch

Website: https://www.coatofmanycolorshandweavers.com/
Daitch believes that everyone deserves to own beautiful and attractive handwoven accessories. His scarves, shawls, throws, shrugs, and wearables are created for people who enjoy such luxurious items. Daitch uses only yarns of the highest quality to create these handwoven pieces that are both visually arresting and sensually pleasing. In combining lustrous fibers and rich colors with the fine art of weaving, his handwoven articles possess all the intrinsic characteristics, charm and irregularities of handmade textiles that make each item unique. Daitch knows that people will enjoy and cherish his handwoven creations. He is also one of the only handweavers in the country who specializes in teaching pre-bar and Bat Mitzvah children the art of handweaving their own tallit, as well as special Judaic weaving projects at all levels and skills.

Robert Schefman

Website: www.robertschefman.com
Robert Schefman, a native of Detroit, has work in numerous private and public collections including The Broad Museum of Art, The Mint Museum of Art, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Boca Raton Museum of Art, The 19th District Court, Dearborn; Ford Arts Center, Dearborn; Wayne State University, Detroit; The Cooley Law School, Lansing; The University of Iowa, and private collections in Detroit, New York City, Boca Raton, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. His work has been exhibited widely including exhibitions at The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, The Detroit Institute of Art, The Orlando Museum of Art, The Ackland Art Museum, The Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Midland Center for The Arts, The Krasl Art Center, Oakland University, Foley Square/ Federal Plaza, New York City, David Klein Gallery and Manifest Research Gallery. 

Artist statement: “The drawing in this show is from his “Carbon Series”, large-scale drawings that grew out of a trip to the Middle East where I couldn’t ignore the collision between politics, religion, and carbon.  Carbon is what we arise from, and return to, “ashes to ashes”. Carbon fuels our creative and destructive nature. The experience translated into charcoals that follow these connections.  “Kings Of Industry” references carbon’s effect on our water; lakes drying up, while oceans are increasing as the planet heats up.

The majority of my work focuses on the connecting threads in social fabric. The images are assembled, like a cinematic still or a literary work of fiction to define a small corner of the world as completely as possible.  The works employ realist illusion because it is common. It is the unchanging reality of sight. The style is neither ancient nor modern, it ignores a style continuum in favor of reinforcing the paradox of incredible technological changes and unchanging human values.”  

Mark Schlussel

Website www.markschlussel.com
Mark Schlussel is an abstract artist whose work is a combination of the cerebral and the emotional, delving into the world of color and texture over a quarter-century ago.  
 
Schlussel and his wife Rosie have lived in Southfield for over 50 years. He served as a member of the City Council 1972-73. In addition to his legal/business career Schlussel has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, as the vice chairman of the Detroit Medical Center and as a board member and chairman of Oakland University.
 
Early in his art career, Schlussel worked exclusively in pencil, developing drawings in the abstract. Those drawings were a reflection of his thoughts. As Schlussel’s creative endeavors moved from pencils to acrylics and from paper to canvas, his work began to present more evidence of both the emotion of the heart and the discipline of the brain. Over these past 25 years, Schlussel evolved and has developed a unique style that expresses the power of emotion through his use of texture, shape, and color. Schlussel loves to use the power of color, or in many instances, the absence of it, to express his inner soul in his works. A group of Schlussel’s paintings are presently exhibited at the Oakland Center of Oakland University and at the Jewish family service building in West Bloomfield Michigan. In addition, a number of his works are in private collections.
 
Each of his works speaks differently to the observer allowing the viewer to experience the painting from his or her own unique life experience. The vitality of each piece is that as the observer grows in their life experience; interpretation and meaning of the painting will grow with them.

Michelle Sider

Website: www.michellesider.com
Sider is a Michigan-based mixed media artist known for creating lush, detailed mosaics and paintings. Her art explores the global themes of identity, place, spirituality and light.
Often described as having an ethereal and dramatic quality, Sider’s work is characterized by the use of bold, imaginative colors and a sense of movement, texture and flow. It is meant to evoke strong emotions. She has developed a painterly style that adds depth and dramatic detail to each finished work.

Madeline Zimberg

Born in Detroit in the 1950s, Zimberg has lived and worked in the Detroit area her entire life. As a Special Education Teacher, she works with young students to try to help open their minds to see the world in a beautiful light. Several of her paintings hang in her classroom. When the students see her paintings on the walls, it helps them to feel inspired and instills in them a feeling of creativity. Zimberg often takes time to introduce her students to art. By creating their own artwork, students learn to believe in themselves and value their own abilities to achieve.  

Zimberg has been painting for over thirty years in an impressionist style. At this point in her life, she mostly paints with inks. She enjoys working with inks due to the vibrancy in color. In spite of this, she tends to use a watercolor style. Zimberg’s paintings are mostly landscapes or other things in nature, like flowers and birds.  

Artist statement: “The works included here were created with natural wool roving which she has needled into a landscape. These subtle needle-felted wool landscapes have been built-up one wisp at a time with a notched needle until a complete landscape has been created.”  

Robert Halprin

Instagram: www.instagram.com/the_inkling_fountain
Richard Halprin is a Detroit-based attorney, children’s rights advocate and figurative artist with a penchant for painting ordinary people into puzzling predicaments or inserting oddball characters into ordinary environments. 
  
Artist statement: "My art is a crisis of cris-cross addictions from facets of faces, to fact into fiction. A steady slipstream of whimsical quips, of tightening focus to loosening grips. A subtle barrage of middle finger flips, a punch in the nose, a kiss on the lips, a chamber of torture with morphine drips.  A passive aggressive acid trip through the mine fields of passion, that digressions unzip. Peeping Tom confessions and manic solo missions performed without practice or permission slips.” 

Talia Abrams

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talias_fashion_studio and https://www.instagram.com/aquatic_wonders_art
Since she was a child, Tabia Abrams have been drawing and painting. Being that artistic genes were passed down through both of her parents, she was naturally good at it. Art has always been her passion and much needed therapy. Abrams childhood wasn’t easy but art gave her an outlet, and joy.
Abrams paintings are generally made with acrylic paint over canvas. But sometimes she paints on wood. She loves painting wildlife and nature because that is what she is drawn to and connects with. Abrams uses vivid colors in her paintings because she states that it makes her happy.

Deborah Marlowe Kashdan

Deborah Marlowe Kashdan is a lifetime Detroiter, who is currently studying art at Michigan State University, and is an alum of College for Creative Studies in Fine Arts. She is a former commissioner of The Southfield Arts Commission and taught The Experience of Art for the Southfield Parks & Recreation department. Kashdan has been a respected artist and actively involved in the Detroit art community for over 45 years.

Kashdan is a national and international award-winning artist, and has been in hundreds of exhibitions, both solo and juried, in galleries and museums in Michigan and across the country. Her work is in numerous private and public collections including Toyota Museum of Art in Toyota, Japan, and College for Creative Studies in Detroit. She has exhibited in hundreds of exhibitions, both in the Detroit area and nationally. She was inducted into the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in 1979.

Kashdan’s works both large-scale, life size, and also in very small formats; both realistic and abstract; mixed media, constructions, oil and acrylic on canvas and paper; watercolor, printmaking; photography; sculpting in stone, metal and clay.

Artist statement: “I am a commentor on the urban scene; a reporter of worlds in paint. My works are narratives. Documenting the social dramas in life. At the same time, they abstract reality, challenging the viewers by forcing them to interact with the piece of art!  The viewer must decide where reality ends, and fantasy begins; whether the viewer is observing the people, or are the people looking out at the viewer?
My people appear as archetypes for people who are ambiguous in time, representing a universal person…a person whose actions and interactions are timeless. They appear in dramas that record the innuendos of social intercourse and/or the importance of social status. 
I believe that if you can change how people see, you can change how people think. In addition, within my work always lies a serious concern with the impact of line, edge, color, balance and harmonious composition.”

Faina Lerman

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fainaland/
Born in 1975 in Riga, Latvia, Lerman immigrated to the United States in 1980. Lerman is a visual and performing artist with a BFA (2004) from the College for Creative Studies. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including receiving a Kresge Visual Art Fellowship in 2015 for her performance art duo, Tzarinas of the Plane. 

In 2007, Lerman co-founded Popps Packing, an artist-run nonprofit on the Hamtramck/ Detroit border, providing studios, residencies, and exhibitions to local, national and international artists. Alongside her artistic pursuits, she is a dedicated mother of two, finding inspiration in long walks, gardening, and time with friends.

Aliza Sosne

Instagram: www.instagram.com/simcha_calligraphy/
With an enduring passion for calligraphy and doodling since childhood, Sosne embarked on an artistic journey that has shaped her life in profound ways. From the bustling streets of New York City where she honed her skills as an apprentice under the guidance of Jay Greenspan, to the academic halls of Wayne State University, where she pursued her love for art and literature, Sosne’s path has been one of continuous growth and exploration.

Balancing her academic pursuits with teaching roles in middle school English and college French, Sosne delved into the world of Ketubah crafting, pouring her heart into each intricate piece long into the night. Over the past 35 years, she has dedicated herself to the art of painting and writing hundreds of Ketubot, infusing each creation with a unique blend of creativity and passion for Jewish symbols and traditions.

Now fully immersed in her freelance work, Sosne relishes the opportunity to spend precious moments with her family, dedicate time to her community while indulging in her greatest passion—creating art. From intricate papercuts to vibrant acrylic paint nights, each project fuels her creative spirit and fills her with a sense of purpose.

Specializing in crafting yekkish wimples, Sosne takes pride in repurposing the cloth used in the circumcision ceremony of male infants into meaningful and unique works of art for families to cherish. As she continues to explore new mediums and push the boundaries of her creativity, Sosne is grateful for the winding journey that has led her to this moment—a place of fulfillment, inspiration, and endless possibility.

Artist Statement: “In my artistic journey, I am captivated by the intricate dance between tradition and creativity, weaving together the threads of my heritage with the boundless possibilities of artistic expression. Drawing upon a lifelong passion for calligraphy and painting, my work serves as a celebration of Jewish symbols and traditions, a homage to the rich tapestry of my cultural identity.

Specializing in crafting yekkish wimples, I find inspiration in the sacred rituals of Jewish life, repurposing the cloth used in the circumcision ceremony of male infants into meaningful and unique works of art. Each wimple carries with it a story—a thread of continuity that binds generations together, weaving a tapestry of memory and meaning.

As I journey forward, I am fueled by a sense of purpose and possibility, grateful for the winding path that has led me to this moment—a place of fulfillment, inspiration, and endless exploration.”