The goal of the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center in Deal Park is to offer gallery space to accomplished local artists, so that they have a venue for sharing their artistic expression with the public.
“Sunrise” by Joseph Feldman Last month, the emotional abstract work of Rumson artist Claire Boren was showcased. The new exhibition, which opened Nov. 1 and runs through Jan. 31, showcases the works of four local artists: Donna Zimmerman Arvelo, Joseph Feldman, David Kepets and Rabbi Sally J. Priesand.
The JCC opened in July 2005 with a Performing Arts Center and the Gallery on Grant, which is located in the large, attractive lobby. It has drawn art lovers from around the county and beyond to its continually changing exhibits of all artistic media.
The new show, called “Local Artists, Diverse Voices,” includes the pastel and oil paintings by Arvelo, an Ocean Township resident.
Arvelo says the goal of her work is multifaceted: “to stir emotions, to inspire herself and others, to teach and be taught and to make this a more beautiful world.”
“Traffic Light” by David Kepets Arvelo studied art at Boston University, The Art Institute of Boston, and the Museum School of Boston, as well as in Italy with Professor John Jacobsmeyer from The New York Academy of Art Graduate School. Since 2002, she has studied art with Liz Schippert and Sven Widen, who teach privately and at the Guild of Creative Art in Shrewsbury. She retired in 2003 from an 18-year career operating a floral shop. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout New Jersey.
Feldman, a Little Silver resident who practices dentistry in Wall, is exhibiting a series of landscape photography from Aspen and Maroon Bells, Colo., as well as a series of photos of wild horses from Jackson Hole, Wyo. Although this is his first exhibit, photography has been a longtime hobby of his. Through his lens, he captures his love of the outdoors in a creative manner. An avid hiker, he is drawn to the vibrant colors of the Southwest.
David Kepets, another Ocean Township resident, is a graphic designer and photographer, and among his clients is the JCC. He is exhibiting a series of graphically enhanced photos titled “Urban Dyslexia.” The photos portray the urban vibrancy of New York City through a technique called multiple exposure.
“Porta in Poggio Santa Cecilia” by Donna Zimmerman Arvelo He explained that the process involves merging a series of photographs into one frame, creating a new scene. The end result is a collage of color, architecture and graphics that make up an urban setting. The photos can be looked at as abstract or can carry viewers through a maze-like journey of defining the layers within each photo.
Priesand is an abstract watercolorist. She says that abstraction is like studying the Torah.
“Just as the devoted student delves into each and every work to discover the meaning of a text,” she said, “so the observant eye dwells on each stroke of the brush, looking for secrets that dwell only in the artist’s mind.”
Rabbi Priesand began painting several years ago after her second bout with breast cancer. Complications with her treatment forced her to stay at home, and she decided to make the most of her time while recuperating. Painting quickly became an important part of the healing process. What she appreciates most about abstract watercolor is its spontaneity.
“Rainbow” by Rabbi Sally Priesand “Like life, it has an unpredictable nature, almost as if the paint has a mind of its own,” she said.
Priesand, America’s first female rabbi, was ordained in June 1972 by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati. Priesand served as rabbi from 1981-2006 at Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, retiring in 2006.
She exhibits annually in the Monmouth Festival of the Arts. In the spring of 2002, in honor of the 30th anniversary of her ordination, she had her first solo exhibition
in the Backman Gallery at HUC-JIR in New York.
All four of the artists are accomplished in their respective fields, whether it is as a dentist, a rabbi, or a floral
or graphic designer. They put the same creativity and thoughtfulness into their fine art endeavors.
The Gallery at the Ruth Hyman Jewish Community Center is located at 100 Grant Ave., Deal Park. Walk-in gallery hours are Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.