Meet Arist Rachel Kanter

Visit this exhibit from the Opening Reception on October 16 through the end of the year

Sacred Community

Artist Statement: Rachel Kanter reinvents traditional ritual objects through traditional women’s hand work and crafts.

I grew up in Syracuse, NY surrounded by women who were always making things: knitting a sweater, sewing a quilt, beading, weaving. I also grew up in a Jewish community that my family has been a part of for over 100 years. The act of creating, the history of my childhood Jewish community, my love of Jewish texts and learning, Jewish rituals, and traditional women’s hand work and crafts have all informed my art.

This exhibition, Sacred Community, brings together the history and tradition of the tallit (prayer shawl), the wimple (Torah binder), the parochet (Torah ark curtain), and the mikdash me’at (small sanctuary). It reinvents these traditional ritual objects through modern ideas about Judaism. All of these objects are used within a synagogue. While the object itself isn’t inherently sacred or holy, it is the use of the object that helps to create a holy space and holy community.

I made my series of tallitot to help me find a ritual garment that felt meaningful and comfortable to me as a woman in the synagogue community. The series of wimples were made to highlight communities that are important to me and to create a ritual of binding a community together. The parokhot were made to reflect on the need for tikkun olam (repairing the world). Lastly, the mikdash me’at creates a small sanctuary out of a communal dinning table and highlights the farmers who grow our food. It is because of the hands of people who create ritual objects and the hands of people who create a community that a sacred community is built.

“God will dwell in the holy spaces we create…” Megillah 29a

About the Artist

Rachel Kanter is a fiber artist using quilting and embroidery techniques while incorporating vintage textiles, sewing patterns, furniture and found objects into her work. Her interests lie in the combination of history and tradition with modern ideas about Judaism and feminism. Kanter’s art is in the permanent collections of The Jewish Museum, NY, NY; Jewish Museum, Frankfurt, Germany; and The Bernard Museum of Judaica, NY, NY. In addition, select solo and group exhibitions include the Jerusalem Biennale, Jerusalem, Israel; Art Fair 14C, Jersey City, NJ; Jewish Museum, Hohenems, Austria; New Jersey Arts Annual, Stockton, NJ; Charter Oak Cultural Center, Hartford, CT; Jewish Theological Museum, NY, NY; The Temple Judea Museum, Elkins Park, PA; and Hebrew Union College, NY, NY.