For its first pavilion at the prestigious Venice Biennale international art festival, the Vatican is presenting an exhibit inspired by the first book of the Torah. Called “Creation, Un-Creation, Re-Creation,” the three-part show in the Vatican’s pavilion will draw on the first 11 chapters of Genesis, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, told reporters Tuesday. Three international contemporary artists were chosen to explore the three themes: the …More

A production of Richard Wagner's "Tannhauser" opera in Dusseldorf that was harshly criticized for staging Nazi atrocities was canceled after less than a week. Performances of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein company's production at the Dusseldorf Opera House are still scheduled despite the cancellation. The company had considered making changes to the staging, set in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, but its director, Burkhard Kosminski, refused for artistic reasons, the BBC reported Thursday. "After …More

The descendants of a renowned Parisian art collector are in a dispute with a Norwegian museum over ownership of a valuable, Nazi-looted Matisse painting. Paul Rosenberg purchased “Woman in Blue in Front of Fireplace” in 1937, the same year Henri Matisse painted the work. It was confiscated by Nazi forces in 1941, just one of an estimated 160 pieces—including Picassos, Renoirs and Cezannes—that SS guards were sent to seize from Rosenberg. Rosenberg fled to the US to escape deportation to …More

The Arthur Szyk Prize for Disruptive Thought and Zionist Art was recently launched to recognize artists whose works spark new ideas about Zionism in the 21st century. The prize, the first of its kind, acknowledges art that engages its audience in a conversation about Zionism and what it means to live in Israel in 2013. The prize is named after visionary Jewish illustrator Arthur Szyk, who created a legendary edition of the Haggadah. The prize will award $1,000 to an artist whose submission shows "exemplary and …More

Less than a year ago, Dan Josephson enlisted in the IDF. He serves as a tank driver in the IDF’s Armored Corps. Since the beginning of his service, he has been taking remarkable, professional-quality photographs, which are now available online. 1. Playing with the moonlight When he first began his army service, Dan preferred to keep his camera at home for fear of breaking it. "In basic training, I was afraid to use my camera, until I decided to take the initiative to take it with me and start …More

An auction of the 500-piece Judaica collection owned by philanthropist Michael Steinhardt was the "most valuable auction of Judaica ever held," Sotheby's said. Monday's auction of nearly all of the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection brought in more than $8.5 million, Sotheby's wrote in a statement, exceeding the pre-sale estimate by $6 million. Some 92.6 percent of the 381 lots were sold, the New York auction house added. Prior to the auction, Sotheby's announced that the Israel Museum in Jerusalem …More

A 15th century Hebrew manuscript has been purchased jointly by the Israel Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, fetching a record-breaking sum. The text is one half of an illuminated Mishneh Torah, Maimonides’ historic 12th century work. The manuscript was created in Italy in 1457. The Torah was set for auction at Sotheby’s this morning, from the collection of Michael and Judy Steinhardt. Instead, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and the Met made the joint purchase privately before the auction …More

Every Friday, Jspace News partners with the America Israel Cultural Foundation to bring you an interview with one of the many Israeli artists they support throughout the world. Zvi Gotheiner began dancing at 17, and soon after formed his first performance group. He came to New York in 1978 on a dance scholarship from the America Israel Cultural Foundation, and went on to dance with the Joyce Trisler Dance Company, Feld Ballets/NY, and the Bat-Sheva Dance Company. After directing Tamar Ramle and the Jerusalem …More

Art, history and recycled objects are coming together in exciting new ways in Israel. From a train station in Jerusalem to an upcycled art studio in Tel Aviv, Israelis are finding creative solutions for unused space and unwanted items that would otherwise end up in a landfill. In Jerusalem, a blend of funky eateries and recycled art will soon be on display at First Station. The Ottoman era train station, first opened in 1892, had for many years remained empty and dilapidated before two developers decided …More

Every Friday, Jspace News partners with the America Israel Cultural Foundation to bring you an interview with one of the many Israeli artists they support throughout the world. Yuval Gilad was born in Israel in 1992, and started playing the piano at 6. At the age of 9 he had already performed as soloist with the Jerusalem Symphony and soon thereafter with the Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion, the Israeli Stage Orchestra, and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. At the age of 11 he won the Bartok-Prokofiev …More

Every Friday, Jspace News partners with the America Israel Cultural Foundation to bring you an interview with one of the many Israeli artists they support throughout the world. Avital Burg is an Israeli painter, currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. Burg attended the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem, and completed a master class program at Hatahana School of Figurative Painting and Drawing, Tel Aviv. Burg currently attends the New York Studio School for Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture. Her work deals …More

Prosecutors in Lublin said they have no legal basis for prosecuting a Swedish artist who admitted to stealing ashes of Holocaust victims who died in Poland. An investigation into the actions of Carl Michael von Hausswolff, who allegedly used human ashes stolen from former death Nazi death camp Majdanek, was suspended by prosecutors in Lublin because the theft occurred in 1989 and the Polish statute of limitations on such a crime is five years. The case is "beyond the jurisdiction of the Polish justice system," a …More