Pennello Gallery adds new Israeli artists

By Alyssa Schmitt

The Pennello Gallery in Little Italy in Cleveland will welcome new Israeli artists to its hall starting in May.

Among the artists is Israeli-born Naava Naslavsky, an assistant biochemistry and molecular biology professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, who creates papier-mache figurines.

“She has two passions that she meshes together,” said Pennello co-director Sue Cahn. “The two things that make her whole and happy is science and art.”

To create her “whimsical” pieces Naslavsky recycles material she uses in a lab, transforming the objects into new shapes that are completely different than the original.

Also joining the gallery is Irit Goldberg, an Old Jaffa-based artist, who injects patterns, linen and gold accents to her functional pieces of ceramic.

“What inspires her is the sea (in Jaffa) and her love for fabric and textures,” Cahn said. “While she emphasizes the delicacy of the creation, her items are both elegant and functional.”

Alongside the new artists is fresh work from Matelace-artist Ayala Barr and Anna Carmi, who mixes the atmosphere of Jerusalem into her ceramics.

“We really support the state of Israel and we support the artists,” co-director Jacquie Meyerson said. “We feel like we bring (the art) to not just the Jewish people, but the other people that come to this area.” CV

Originally published in the Cleveland Jewish News on May 5, 2017.

Lead image: Pennello Gallery co-directors Jacquie Meyerson, left, and Sue Cahn in front of artwork inside their gallery. Submitted photo