Maor Gallery is pleased to present four x four, an exhibition of works by Marisa Leicach, Gisela Savdie, Janet Slom, Tina Spiro and Paul Stoppi. The exhibition will open to the public on Thursday, May 3^rd and will be on view through May 28^th, 2012.

Opening Reception: Thursday, May 3^rd, 2012, 7:00 – 9:00pm.

I will bring you out from under the hardship of Egypt, and I will save you from their bondage; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you to Myself as a nation, and I will be to you a G-d . . . (Exodus 6:6-7)

These four phrases are expressions G-d used to describe the miraculous exodus of the Jewish people from the Egyptian exile (1313 BCE). The first three phrases symbolize the intervention from above; whilst the latter required and only came into fruition when each of the participants took an active role in freeing themselves, a level culminated 49 days later at Mount Sinai.

In Kabalistic teachings the number four signifies completion, the ability to take the tools given and utilize them for spiritual labor and refinement, thus bringing it all from potential to actuality.

four x four explores the story of the making of a nation. It’s a story we all experience on a constant basis when embarking in the journey of freeing ourselves and becoming who we strive to be.

Maor Gallery is pleased to present Gifts, an exhibition of work by Miami-based artist Jason Hedges, curated by Eric Charest-Weinberg. The exhibition will open to the public on Saturday, February 11^th and will be on view through March 23^rd, 2012.

Jason Hedges, Florida Cobia 2011, Ink on paper, 45 x 18 inches

A longtime foodie, Jason Hedges creates visual representations founded on conceptual gastronomic concepts.  From the performative, we find ourselves in a world of ideas founded on organic growth.  Jason Hedges, with his distinct, clean and minimal aesthetic, embodies the often overlooked principals to which all life is created.

Specified simplistic ideas are often seldom uniquely created.  The inspiration and lineage to those ideas are often taken for granted.  The overwhelming respect for thousands of years, the sacrament of G-d’s creation, the idea of preservation and a naturalistic compound in humanity, as seen from the perspective of a singular temporary inhabitant, to which we all are, yields an identity, solely based on organic sustainability.  It is what it is.  A peppercorn is a peppercorn.  A snapper is a snapper.  A grape is a grape. Smoke created from burning wood is Smoke created from burning wood.

When viewing contemporary art, the participant is often forced to recontextualize concepts in a way that unilaterally relates to them personally, and further applying that concept to an abstract visual representation of that singular idea.  This concept is subjective, created by the artist and for the most part, never up for discussion.  In this engineered action, the participant is presented with the illusion of self discovery. In reality, the emotions created in the participant had been meticulously executed by the artist.

The documentation and preservation of living organisms, frozen in time, articulated on a medium, representing prosperity, equality, history and the idea of a sustainable future are the embodiment of Hedges’s visual vocabulary.

Purim, (4^th century BCE ) the historical Jewish holiday celebrated yearly on the 14^th of the Hebrew month of Adar (March 7^th -8^th, 2012); commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day.”  The miraculous events of Purim are completely enclothed in the ebb and flow of nature and society. But when delving deeper the hand of G-d orchestrating the events as part of an interactive master plan can be seen.   The Purim story challenges us to find the essence of G-d in the material world and in seemingly meaningless events.

For Gifts, Hedges created a body of work founded on the ideas of gifting.  Purim is celebrated by commemorating ideals and rituals that include, Reading the Scroll of Esther, gifting of foods, giving charity, feasting and costuming.

About Jason: Jason Hedges is a Miami based artist whose practice is confined to exploring food & drink and humanities relationships with them throughout history. The work draws from the inherent beauty as well as the cultural significances that we have developed. The work is often interactive or a by-product of an action. His work has been exhibited locally and international and featured in numerous periodicals and art journals. His works can be found in numerous public and private collections and exhibits regularly in museums, galleries, art fairs and other institutions. Full CV and samples of works can be found atwww.jasonhedges.org

Tuesday 11/29, 7pm — 9pm: ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT Opening Reception
Experience ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT, a multi-media group exhibition exploring five artists’ interpretation of different qualities of light at Maor Gallery. The experience begins outside, with a streetscape “dance of light” installation. Inside the gallery, paintings invoke imagery of the Northern Lights and a hovering light-filled cloud challenges concepts of positive and negative space. Curated by Arthur Dunkelman and Tina Spiro; featuring works by Fernando Calzadilla, Janet Slom, Tina Spiro, Yasmin Spiro, Paul Stoppi and student artists from Design Architecture Senior High (DASH). The reception is open to the public. Refreshments will be served, including drinks sponsored by Prairie Organic Vodka. Free parking is available.

Friday 12/02, 5pm – 7pm: A TASTE OF SHABBAT
Enjoy “A Taste of Shabbat” at Maor Gallery, just a block from Midtown’s Art Miami Pavilion. Savor traditional Shabbat dishes and a serene Shabbat spirit as you experience Maor’s ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT exhibition. “A Taste of Shabbat” is free and open to the public. Hors d’orves and beverages will be served.

Saturday 12/03, 6:30pm – 10pm: ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT Gallery Walk
Experience ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT, a multi-media group exhibition exploring five artists’ interpretation of different qualities of light at Maor Gallery (3030 NE 2nd Avenue). Located just one block from the Art Miami Pavillion in Midtown, Maor’s Art Week events promise to be a highlight of Miami Art Week. Free parking is available.

Wednesday12/21, 7pm – 9pm: MAOR’S CHANUKAH CELEBRATION
Celebrate the Festival of Lights with ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT, a multi-media group exhibition exploring five artists’ interpretation of different qualities of light at Maor Gallery (3030 NE 2nd Avenue). More details to come.

“Darkness, no matter how ominous and intimidating, is not a thing or force: it is merely the absence of light. So light need not combat and overpower darkness in order to displace it — where light is, darkness is not. A thimbleful of light will therefore banish a roomful of darkness.”

– Rabbi Tzvi Freeman, inspired by teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Maor presents ON THE EDGE OF LIGHT, a multi-media exhibition exploring five artists’ interpretation of different qualities of light through site-specific installations and paintings both inside and outside Maor Gallery.

Each artist has explored different qualities and manifestations of light. Using diverse media, they interpret a flickering light of memory, an inner glow of meditation, light as it is refracted in the sky, and the velocity of light through an illuminated streetscape.

Tina Spiro’s oil paintings depict great human endeavors and folly within the context of climate change and the spectacular cosmic beauty of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, superimposed on vast landscapes. Janet Slom’s heroic abstract paintings embody light from within and Paul Stoppi’s illuminated cloud challenges concepts of positive and negative space. Fernando Calzadilla presents an outdoor “sky panel” installation. Yasmin Spiro has created a site-specific interpretation of her acclaimed video installation, “Tracks.”

The streetscape “dance of light” is being created by selected sculpture students of DASH, Professor Hans Evers will oversee the development and construction of their outdoor project which will delight drivers and visitors throughout Art Basel.

This luminescent show will run through the Jewish holiday of Chanukah, known as the Festival of Lights. The holiday commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem after the defeat of the Greek army in 166 BCE. The ritual oil used to light a seven branched candelabra – or menorah – was damaged, leaving only enough for a single day. Miraculously, it burned for eight days and that ancient miracle is still celebrated today.

Arthur Dunkelman, of the Jay I. Kislak Foundation, has previously curated exhibitions including “The Enchantress: Emma, Lady Hamilton” at the Grolier Club in New York [2011] and “Exploring the Early Americas,” an ongoing exhibit at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. Co-curator Tina Spiro founded the Miami-based Miart Foundation to foster local art development, with a new initiative to link Miami to its artistic Caribbean neighbors.

Special thanks to Miart foundation and J I Kislak for their support in producing this exhibition.

Opening reception: Tuesday October 18, 7:00 to 9:00pm
On view October 12th – November 12th
Open bar – Free and open to the public
Maor Gallery- 3030 NE 2nd Ave. Miami

Maor Miami is delighted to present Four Species, an exhibition using the work of four artists to explore the rituals of the ancient Jewish harvest festival, Sukkot. Four Species refers to the four varieties of flora synonymous with the human spine (the palm branch ‘Lulav’), eye (myrtle, ‘Hadass’), mouth (willow, ‘Aravah’) and heart (citron fruit ‘Etrog’), held together to symbolize the unity of body, spirit, scripture and memory. The continuous cycles of life and death, the nature of impermanence and migration, and how the practice of making art as an intellectual and contemplative pursuit which may somehow stall or pause the inevitable movement of organic decay are all traced through seamless dialogue between the artists’ works.

The observance of Sukkot is derived from the book of Leviticus, in which the Jewish people were commanded to ‘live in booths for seven days…so that you will know, for all generations, that I had the Children of Israel dwell in Sukkot when I took them out of the Land of Egypt…’ (Leviticus 23:42-43). The Sukkah is erected each year during the harvest period as reminder of the shelter and comfort provided by divine intervention from the perils of the Judean desert; to be treated as a home versus a temporary living space. Every custom and the artifacts associated therein dictates their composition must be of organic matter: the Sukkah’s roof, the ceremonial plants, the gains of the harvest and the inhabitants, themselves. The works in Four Species prominently feature both direct and indirect aesthetic citations to the volatility of organic matter, yet capably highlight the triumph of natural and human life beyond its presence in the physical world.

Loriel Beltran, Catalina Jaramillo, Joe Segal and Shelter Serra’s work manifest the essence of the religious celebration towards a broader audience: a unique consideration within the Sukkah, itself and moving indoors to the gallery space. A repurposed wooden wall acts as part of the Sukkah’s physical structure, a resin cast of the actual Four Species, two highly finished aluminum-implanted wooden beams hung side by side, and a meditative performance will act as visual suggestions. This exhibition invites the public to experience quiet, but critical engagement.

Four Species is curated by Jon Feinstein (Co-Founder and Curatorial Director of the Humble Arts Foundation, New York) and Shana Beth Mason (Miami-based art consultant and critic) for Maor Miami, a non-profit exhibition space which encourages spiritual exploration and growth through creative expression, comprised of three key principles: Art, Light and Soul. As part of a series of events for Sukkot starting October 12th, Four Species will open with a special reception on the evening of October 18th at 7pm. The exhibition will run until November 12th. Complimentary cocktails are provided to exhibition patrons/viewers.

Friday 12/02, 5pm – 7pm