In remembrance

2 solo exhibits look back on Jewish communities lost to Holocaust

Works by British artist Beverly Jane Stewart represent Romanian Jewry and European synagogues, in Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion, respectively

Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

  • From 'Beyond the Ashes' by artist Beverly-Jane Stewart at the Yad LaBanim House in Rishon Lezion, for International Holocaust Day 2022 (Courtesy Duncan Phillips)
    From 'Beyond the Ashes' by artist Beverly-Jane Stewart at the Yad LaBanim House in Rishon Lezion, for International Holocaust Day 2022 (Courtesy Duncan Phillips)
  • From 'Beyond the Ashes' by artist Beverly-Jane Stewart at the Yad LaBanim House in Rishon Lezion, for International Holocaust Day 2022 (Courtesy Duncan Phillips)
    From 'Beyond the Ashes' by artist Beverly-Jane Stewart at the Yad LaBanim House in Rishon Lezion, for International Holocaust Day 2022 (Courtesy Duncan Phillips)
  • From 'Romanian Heritage – A Journey in Time' by artist Beverly-Jane Stewart at the Romanian Cultural Institute Tel Aviv for International Holocaust Day 2022 (Courtesy Duncan Phillips)
    From 'Romanian Heritage – A Journey in Time' by artist Beverly-Jane Stewart at the Romanian Cultural Institute Tel Aviv for International Holocaust Day 2022 (Courtesy Duncan Phillips)

Two solo art exhibitions in Tel Aviv and Rishon Lezion opened this week, marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27, the date of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau ghetto.

British artist Beverly Jane Stewart’s exhibit, “Romanian Heritage — A Journey in Time” is at the Romanian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv (8 Shaul Hamelech Boulevard, free entry) through July 2, 2022.

The exhibit examines cultural identity and Jewish heritage through the lens of Stewart’s family ties to Romania.

Stewart visited and documented Romanian cities and towns over a period of three years, painting collage-like compositions of the landscape and cities, mountain villages and towns, theater and synagogues.

She integrated her great-grandparents’ 1880 wedding photo into one of the artworks, and created several engraved on wood, inspired by her Romanian great-grandfather, a master carpenter.

Stewart’s works are also featured in “Beyond the Ashes” exhibit at the Yad LaBanim House in Rishon Lezion, a series of etchings created on zinc plates and then corroded with acid.

From ‘Romanian Heritage – A Journey in Time’ by artist Beverly-Jane Stewart at the Romanian Cultural Institute Tel Aviv for International Holocaust Day 2022 (Courtesy Duncan Phillips)

The destruction of the plates signifies the lost glory and magnificence of old synagogues, buildings that were once a part of the Jewish life in Europe and were ruined and ravaged during World War II.

Yad LeBanim Gallery, 20 Ahad Ha’am St. Rishon Lezion, through February 20, 2022, free entry.

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