September 9 through November 23, 2022~
An accessible facility, groups welcome by appointmentHours: Mon-Thurs: 9:00 am-5:00 pm, Fri: 9:00 am-evening after services, Sun: 9:00 am-1:00 pm.
The Temple Judea Museum (TJM) Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel
215-887-8700, ext. 416; 215-901-2656; TJMuseum@kenesethisrael.org
Director/Curator: Rita Rosen Poley; TJM Chair, Karen Shain Schloss; TJM Artists’ Collaborative Chair, Marlene D’Orazio Adler; TJM Friends’ Chair, Norma Meshkov
TJM is a Program Stream recipient of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts
EXHIBITION: THE THREADS THAT BIND US
DESCRIPTION: A solo exhibition of sculptures and paintings by artist, Paula Mandel
Dates: September 9th – November 23rd, 2022
Programs: Meet the Artist: October 9th, 1:30 – 3:30pm
Zoom talk: November 9th, 7:30pm
https://tinyurl.com/tjmthreads119 to register
DIRECTOR/CURATOR STATEMENT: (Excerpted) Paula Mandel’s work shows both a masterful ability to physically handle her craft and wonderfully idiosyncratic story telling. She invites us to experience both her broad world view and her personal memories and experiences through sculptures and paintings that are totally unique and enchanting. Rita Rosen Poley
THE ARTIST: (Brief Bio) Paula Mandel, a native Philadelphian, is a long-standing member of Keneseth Israel and the Temple Judea Museum’s Artists’ Collaborative. Mandel’s work merges her life-long love for found objects and old machinery with original glasswork to create sculptures of unique design, structure, and movement. Her work has been featured in museums, universities and galleries in and around Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Her sculptures have been juried into volume 1 of Best in America: Glass Artists and Artisans, as well as the Best of Philadelphia Glass Artists exhibition at the National Liberty Museum, and Women Working in Glass at Rosemont College. She is a prize-winner in the International Flameworking Conference and was a featured artist for the International Glass Art Society. In 2004, Mandel, along with fellow artist Joan Myerson Shrager, created The Stained Glass Project: Windows That Open Doors. Now in its 18th year, this award-winning after-school program teaches students from Philadelphia High Schools, who have minimal, if any, art background, to make accomplished stained glass windows.
ARTIST STATEMENT: (Excerpted)
I create sculptures that combine glass that I fabricate with discarded objects that have lost their usefulness. I invite viewers to, through my work, see the world in a new way. I employ various methods to work the glass, including flameworking with a torch, casting and fusing in a kiln, and coldworking with grinders. By being able to manipulate the glass in multiple ways I have the freedom to create in harmony with the found objects I have chosen for a specific piece. My sculptures are filled with humor, humanity, and unexpected psychological relationships. As these creations evolve, they often surprise me. They originate from my personal stories and become shared discourses on parenthood, ancestry, connection, loss, changing times, and rebirth. My hope is for viewers to discover something new about themselves and others as they relate my work to personal moments in their lives. Paula Mandel
