Patrons of the J. Klaynberg Gallery in the Chelsea section of New York City peruse prints by Chasidic artist Michael Mordechai Cohen. (Photo: Schneur Menaker Cameratology)
Chasidic artist Michael Mordechai Cohen celebrated his East Coast debut as he unveiled a series of pop-influenced spiritual prints at the J. Klaynberg Gallery in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea.
Printmaker Blends Jewish Images With a Nod to Pop Culture
Chasidic artist Michael Mordechai Cohen celebrated his East Coast debut as he unveiled a series of pop-influenced spiritual prints at the J. Klaynberg Gallery in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea.
Last week’s premier of Cohen’s “Don’t Mess With the Besht: Part II” – the title refers to the acronymic name of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chasidic thought – brought a cross-section of Jewish life to the two-year-old gallery, which is run by the Chabad-Lubavitch Center for Jewish Discovery. The first to be featured under new curator Sarah Lehat, the show drew on traditional Jewish and contemporary images, a reflection of Cohen’s own religious journey.
Cohen was inspired by Jewish mysticism and Chasidic thought while working towards his B.F.A. in printmaking at California State University, Long Beach. Today, he lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son and considers himself a Chasid of the Nikolsburg Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yechiel Mechel Lebovits.
