Current Exhibits | Past Shows | Derfner Judaica Museum

June 8 – July 25, 2008

The Hebrew Home at Riverdale is pleased to announce its latest exhibition Wanderland: Photographs by Leora Laor, noted Israeli photographer. The work ruminates on a depiction of modern day society which is fuzzy, ambiguous, and transient, and on how human relationships function within its boundaries.

The photographs capture the diverse, and oftentimes uncomfortable ways that the individual fits into the world, whether presented as a contemporary urban landscape or as fantastic, dreamlike environments created by the artist. Film and video stills which recall traditional portraiture convey an unexpected sense of disconnection: expressions which are obscured and blurred to the point of non-recognition or someone’s back turned to the camera all represent Laor’s sedate exploration into the human condition.

In the aptly titled Image of Light series comprised of video stills, human figures appear against a background of glowing, lurid color, reducing each one to a darkened silhouette as the substantiality of the body disappears. The second group of photographs, shot in Jerusalem in the Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim, possess a sense of agelessness with images of children who could have stepped directly out of the 19th century. The series captures the other-worldly sensation of a place that seems untouched by time, reveling in a type of nostalgia that borders on surreal.

Leora Laor is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and the New School for Social Research where she studied under photographer Lisette Model. In the 1980s, she worked and exhibited at the Oggi Domani Gallery, the only gallery in the East Village dedicated solely to photography at that time, and participated in pivotal photography exhibitions at Artists’ Space and P.S.1. After a 20 year hiatus, she has returned to the world of fine art photography and is currently represented by Andrea Meislin Gallery, which has generously loaned all of the work for this exhibition. The show will be on view from June 8 – July 25, 2008, open daily from 10 – 4 p.m. free of charge.

As a member of the American Association of Museums, The Hebrew Home at Riverdale is committed to displaying fine art and houses a permanent collection comprised of 20th century and contemporary art including prints, paintings, photographs, and sculpture, as well as The Judaica Museum which exhibits art and artifacts from Jewish life and culture. The Home is a nonprofit, non-sectarian geriatric center serving more than 3,000 elderly persons through its resources and community service programs. Its 19-acre main campus, which also features a sculpture garden, overlooks the Hudson River and Palisades. For further information regarding the exhibition or the Hebrew Home’s art collection, please contact the Art Department at (718) 581-1596 or Public Relations Department at (718) 581-1225.