By: Abby Schwartz
Cincinnati, Ohio — The Skirball Museum on the historic 
Cincinnati campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is bursting at the seams with new exhibitions! Now open in the Mayerson Auditorium gallery is Modern Israeli Art, Mark Podwal Prints, and Recent Gifts. This show features works by Israeli modernists including Mordecai Ardon and Reuven Rubin; prints by Mark Podwal “drawn” from ritual objects in the Skirball’s collection; and recent gifts including works by Marc Chagall and Cincinnati artist Wolfgang Ritschel. This exhibition closes in June of 2024. Opening October 19 with a reception and remarks at 5:30 pm in Mayerson Hall are three complementary exhibitions:
- In Eve I Understand, Santa Fe-based fabric artist Ellie Beth Scott engages in a visual interpretation of objects and subject matter in Jewish life with an emphasis on
women, who like Eve, the first Woman of Valor, perpetuate devotion and determination in a myriad of ways. Inspired by selected works in the Skirball collection used by women and by practices performed by women, Scott renders richly colored pieces using fabric, thread, paint, buttons, and beads. This exhibition closes on February 4, 2024. - In celebration of Israel at 75, ish, whose mission is to create intentional spaces for connection and acceptance through the arts and new-ish rituals rooted in Jewish cultural traditions, brings together four Israeli artists and four Cincinnati artists who each create an original work of art and four additional works that interpret and “re-art” the work of their colleagues. The works respond to the power of women as community builders, organizers, and healers through times of crisis and change. This exhibition closes on February 4, 2024.
- After a lengthy closure caused by supply chain issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, the galleries devoted to Torah, Life Cycle, and Holidays and Festivals in the Skirball’s core collection, An Eternal People: The Jewish Experience, are once again open with new cases, new signage, and ritual objects from the B’nai B’rith Klutznick Collection that have never been on view before. Old favorites are seen in a whole new light, literally and figuratively. This grand reopening is made even more meaningful by the opportunity to bring Ellie Beth Scott’s discerning eye to several objects of material culture displayed in these newly installed galleries and other parts of the Skirball’s core collection.
The Skirball is open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11 am to 3 pm and Sundays, 1 to 4 pm, or by appointment. Contact awheeler@huc.edu, call 513.487.3231, or visit our website, https://csm.huc.edu.