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Gallery brings taste of Israel to Little Italy
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BY: ARLENE FINE Senior Staff Reporter
A fixture in the ethnic neighborhood for eight years, Pennello Gallery just reinvented itself. Owners Sue Cahn and Jacquie Meyerson have given their gallery an Israeli spin. The gallery now features fine American art combined with Israeli art, handcrafted jewelry and serving pieces.
Located in a rehabbed donut bakery, right across the street from their former gallery, both Cahn and Meyerson have been busy directing painters, carpenters and electricians to give their spiffy new digs great eye appeal, along with lots of nooks and crannies to display their wares.
“This is a dream come true,” says Cahn. “When our customers enter our place, I want them to feel as though this bustling end of Mayfield Road has met Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem.”
Over the past few years, Cahn has become very familiar with Ben Yehuda Street and other happening Israeli art districts. This summer she spent several months with her good friends, former Clevelanders Ruchama and Marcel Salomon, who introduced her to some cutting-edge Israeli artists.
“Ruchama and Marcel led me to Yael Erlichman, whose magnificent bronzes of traditional figures are only shown at a gallery in the Berkshires and now at Pennello Gallery,” says Cahn.
Cahn also returned to artists’ studios she had haunted when she helped coordinate The Mandel JCC’s Fine Arts and Crafts Shows.
“On several JCC staff trips to Israel, I found art studios in alleys off the then-bohemian Sheinken Street in Tel Aviv and in the industrial factory buildings in Talpiot, Jerusalem,” she explains. “I returned to these areas and connected with many of these artists who had trained at the Bezalel Academy of Art. Samples of their work are on display throughout our new gallery.”
There are also works by Itzik and Yossi Benshalom, whose bronze sculptures are produced in their foundry, the largest in Israel. A well-lit glass case displays Israeli jewelry, including pieces by jewelry artist Yael Stern. Cahn points with pride to metal artist Talia Abraham’s serving pieces, developed from a century-old lace doily pattern.
Two of the freshly painted gallery walls hold the work of Sali Ariel, whose large oil paintings of the streets of Tel Aviv capture the essence of the city with its Bauhaus architecture, dogs, motor scooters and bustling cafes. (Ariel is the wife of “Dry Bones” cartoonist Ya’akov Kirschen.)
“Even though we have cases filled with mezuzahs and plenty of menorahs, our focus is on fine Israeli art, not merely Judaica,” emphasizes Cahn.
As Cahn and Meyerson put the final touches on their new gallery, they are often visited by neighborhood merchants, who wish them well.
“We have become an integral part of the Little Italy art scene,” says Meyerson. “We serve on merchant committees and have even joined a bocce league. When the Italian American Brotherhood Club opened next to our gallery, we brought them a fresh challah as a house-warming gift. It’s like a little United Nations here.”
Pennello Gallery will have its official grand opening during the Murray Hill Art Walk from Nov. 30 - Dec. 2.
afine@cjn.org
Located in a rehabbed donut bakery, right across the street from their former gallery, both Cahn and Meyerson have been busy directing painters, carpenters and electricians to give their spiffy new digs great eye appeal, along with lots of nooks and crannies to display their wares.
“This is a dream come true,” says Cahn. “When our customers enter our place, I want them to feel as though this bustling end of Mayfield Road has met Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem.”
Over the past few years, Cahn has become very familiar with Ben Yehuda Street and other happening Israeli art districts. This summer she spent several months with her good friends, former Clevelanders Ruchama and Marcel Salomon, who introduced her to some cutting-edge Israeli artists.
“Ruchama and Marcel led me to Yael Erlichman, whose magnificent bronzes of traditional figures are only shown at a gallery in the Berkshires and now at Pennello Gallery,” says Cahn.
Cahn also returned to artists’ studios she had haunted when she helped coordinate The Mandel JCC’s Fine Arts and Crafts Shows.
“On several JCC staff trips to Israel, I found art studios in alleys off the then-bohemian Sheinken Street in Tel Aviv and in the industrial factory buildings in Talpiot, Jerusalem,” she explains. “I returned to these areas and connected with many of these artists who had trained at the Bezalel Academy of Art. Samples of their work are on display throughout our new gallery.”
There are also works by Itzik and Yossi Benshalom, whose bronze sculptures are produced in their foundry, the largest in Israel. A well-lit glass case displays Israeli jewelry, including pieces by jewelry artist Yael Stern. Cahn points with pride to metal artist Talia Abraham’s serving pieces, developed from a century-old lace doily pattern.
Two of the freshly painted gallery walls hold the work of Sali Ariel, whose large oil paintings of the streets of Tel Aviv capture the essence of the city with its Bauhaus architecture, dogs, motor scooters and bustling cafes. (Ariel is the wife of “Dry Bones” cartoonist Ya’akov Kirschen.)
“Even though we have cases filled with mezuzahs and plenty of menorahs, our focus is on fine Israeli art, not merely Judaica,” emphasizes Cahn.
As Cahn and Meyerson put the final touches on their new gallery, they are often visited by neighborhood merchants, who wish them well.
“We have become an integral part of the Little Italy art scene,” says Meyerson. “We serve on merchant committees and have even joined a bocce league. When the Italian American Brotherhood Club opened next to our gallery, we brought them a fresh challah as a house-warming gift. It’s like a little United Nations here.”
Pennello Gallery will have its official grand opening during the Murray Hill Art Walk from Nov. 30 - Dec. 2.
afine@cjn.org
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