Redeeming Eve: Female Orthodox Jewish Artists Come Out

Helene Aylon

By Sarah Lehat

It's official. Jewish women are coming out. Seeping onto the walls of galleries and museums for some time now, the trickle of provocative work by Jewish female artists of the Orthodox persuasion has turned into a flood.

First to tip the world off to the trend was the Mishkan Le Omanut in Ein Harod, Israel, earlier this year with a pioneering exhibit entitled "Matronita: Jewish Feminist Art." Curated by Dvora Liss and David Sperber, and named for the eponymous "woman of integrity" (referred to in the Jewish Talmud as a woman accorded great respect and the right to question authority), Matronita showcased work from Orthodox female artists dealing with the dissonance between Halacha (the Jewish code of law as sourced in the Bible) and contemporary life.

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