ARTIST STATEMENT
Judith Joseph’s art is idea-driven. She works across media to connect ancient mythologies and history with ethical issues in today’s world. Her imagery is inspired by nature, folklore, literature and family stories.
CV
EDUCATION
B.S. Art, University of Wisconsin‑Madison
AWARDS/ FELLOWSHIPS
2023 SELA Fellowship, Amen Institute: mentoring high school students
2021 University of Illinois Presidential Initiative in the Arts and Humanities Residency Program
2021 Fellow, Amen Institute Visual Arts Project
2020 AIRF Grant from 3Arts Organization
2015 Spertus Institute Fellowship, Chicago, IL
2004 Illinois Arts Council Artists’ Fellowship Award
1998 Illinois Arts Council Artists’ Fellowship Award
2001 Illinois Arts Council Artists’ Finalist Award
PUBLIC AND INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS/COMMISSIONS
University of Illinois
Chicago Public Library, Chicago, Illinois
Respect And Tolerance Foundation, Lostice, Czech Republic
Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
American Marketing Association, Chicago, Illinois
Westmoor School, Northbrook, Illinois
Congregation Ohev Shalom, Wallingford, Pennsylvania
Hillel Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Family Service of Oak Park/River Forest, Illinois
Jewish Women's Foundation, Chicago, Illinois
North Shore Congregation Israel, Glencoe, Illinois
Congregation Anshe Emet, Chicago, Illinois
Congregation Hakafa, Glencoe, Illinois
North American Academy of Liturgy
Downtown Highland Park Alliance Public Art Display Project
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS hundreds of illuminated manuscripts, paintings and woodblock prints in collections in the U.S. and Canada.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 Ovation/ Chai Point, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
2017 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Golda Meir Library
2017 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Hillel Center
2013 Kraft Center, Columbia University, New York, New York
2013 Kol Ami Museum, N.S. Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, Illinois
2012 PerficalSense Gallery, Evanston, Illinois
2011 Congregation Solel, Highland Park, Illinois
2011 The Art Center, Highland Park,Illinois
2011 Beth Emet Congregation, Evanston, Illinois
2010 ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2010 Northbrook Village Hall, Northbrook, Illinois
2003 Anatomically Correct Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
1992 Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, Illinois
1986 Skokie Public Library, Skokie, Illinois
1983 Illinois Arts Council Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
TWO AND THREE PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2019 Chimera Loft Gallery, Evanston, Illinois; with Ruti Modlin and Marcia Babler
2016 The Art Center, Highland Park, Ilinois, with Luis De La Torre
2015 Zack Gallery, Jewish Community Center, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, with Alina Smolyansky
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2023 And I shall Dwell Among Them: The Desert Sanctuary Reimagined, Vila Contemporary Art Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel.
2023 Tsedek Boxes, the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, New York, NY.
2023 Genesis, the Interchurch Center, New York, NY
2023 One Nation, the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum, New York, NY.
2023 The Artists’ Voice, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, IL.
2023 2023 Strings of Resilience, Governors State University, Elgin Public Library
2023 Windows to the Inside: Expressions of Mental Health, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois. (virtual exhibition)
2023 Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacy, at the Beverly Arts Center, Chicago, Illinois.
2022 Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacy, at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, the University of Illinois-Springfield Visual Arts Gallery and the M.G. Nelson Gallery at the Springfield Art Association.
2022 The Samaritans: A Biblical People, Museum of the Bible, Washington, D.C.
2022 Our Bodies/ Our Health: Navigating the Wars Within and Around Us, Koehnline Museum, Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Illinois.
2022 The Invisible Costs of War, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois.
2022 Glow, Space 900, Evanston, Illinois.
2022-23 Out of the Narrows: Art from a new Haggadah by the Jewish Artists’ Collective Chicago, NSS Beth El, Highland Park, Illinois; Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley, Indiana
2022 Variations, Bloomingdale Art Museum, Bloomingdale, Illinois
2021 A Fence Around the Torah, Jewish Museum of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland
2021 Refuge and Refugee, Northern Illinois University Museum, DeKalb, Illinois
2021 Really Big Prints, Rahr West Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin
2021 Very Well, Thank You: The Arts as a Means to Well-Being, Northern Illinois University Museum, DeKalb, Illinois
2021 Jewish Authenticity and Identity, Adas Israel Congregation, Washington, DC
2021 For The Birds, invitational exhibition, Freeport Art Museum, Freeport, Illinois
2020 10th International Printmaking Biennial, Douro, Portugal
2020 I am. an Immigrant., Institut fur Alles Mogliche, Berlin, Germany
2020 Beyond The Surface, Elmhurst Art Museum, Elmhurst, Illinois
2020 Where Are We Now?: Activism of the Everyday, Koehnline Museum of Art, Des Plaines, Illinois
2020 Who Am I, Old Courthouse Arts Center, Woodstock, Illinois
2020 Black and White, A.I.R. Gallery, Glencoe, Illinois
2019 Ritual and Spirituality, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois
2019 Truth as a Contested Concept, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2019 A Book About Death (The Last Waltz), Islip Art Museum, East Islip, New York
2019 Spinoza In Beeld Vertaald (Spinoza In Images), Oranjekerk, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019 Really Big Prints, Aylward Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
2019 Fashioning the Self: You Are What You Wear?, Koehnline Museum of Art, Des Plaines, Illinois
2019 Spinoza, Marrano of Reason, Amstelkerk and Plein van Siena, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2019 Refreshing Feminism, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2019 Expressions of Defiance, Northern Illinois University Whitney Reynolds Gallery
2019 Impromptu, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2019 Identity, Old Court House Gallery, Woodstock, Illinois
2019 inside/ Outside, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois
2018 What We Carry, Janice Charach Gallery, Detroit, Michigan
2018 Nevertheless, She Persisted, Koehnline Museum of Art, Des Plaines, Illinois
2017 The Golem in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
2017 Women And Anger, Koehnline Museum, Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Illinois
2017 Far From The Front Lines, Evanston Art Center, Evanston, Illinois
2017 Gold Wing Gallery, Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation, New York, New York
2017 Beautiful, Powerful Statements, Gallery at St. Luke's, Metuchen, New Jersey
2016 Voices of Wisdom, Spertus Institute, Chicago, Illinois
2016 Passover and the Consequences of Freedom, Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
2016 University of Southern California Hillel, Los Angeles, California
2016 Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois: faculty exhibit
2016 Transcendence of Loss, live-painting performance during MFA recital by Chelsea Betz, Alice Millar Chapel, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
2016 Really Big Prints, exhibit of steamroller woodblock prints, Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum, Two Rivers, Wisconsin
2015, 2010 Explorations, Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois
2014-17 Artists' Beit Midrash, Arthur Feldman Gallery and NSS Beth El, Highland Park, Illinois
2014 Second Time Around: The Hubcap As Art, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, Virginia
2014 Fractured Yet Rising, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Ilinois
2014 Artists Interpret Purim Masks, Jewish Museum of Chicago, Highland Park,Ilinois
2010- 19 In View: Faculty and Members' Show, The Art Center, Highland Park, Ilinois
2014 Fused Art Israel, international juried online exhibit, San Diego, California
2013 Ritual Book Show, 110 Church Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2012 Kol Ami Museum, N.S. Synagogue Beth El, Highland Park, Illinois
2012 Jewish Culture, Decatur Arts Council, Decatur, Illinois
2012 An Exploration of Words and Letters, South Shore Arts Center, Munster, Indiana
2012 Sacred Spaces, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois
2011 Jewish Art Salon, Global/Local, digitally projected at 200 locations in 40 countries
2011 Northbrook Originals, Northbrook Public Library, Northbrook, Illinois
2010 Coming To Fruition: Painting with Judith Joseph, Heller Nature Center, Highland Park, Ilinois
2010 All Things That Bloom, Perfical Sense Studio, Evanston, Illinois
2010 Chicago Fringe Artists Networking Night, Red Tape Theatre, Chicago, Illinois
2009 The Art Of Peace, Dayton Peace Museum, Dayton, Ohio
2009 Collaboration, ARC Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
2009 As The Spirit Moves You, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois
2009 The Healing Power of Art, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois
2009 The Healing Power of Art, New Visions Gallery, Marshfield, Wisconsin
ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS/ EXHIBITIONS
2014, 2012 Magic Garden Project, Highland Park, Illinois
2011 Project Butterfly, Highland Park, Illinois
2010 Chicago Center For Green Technology, painted rain barrels, Chicago, Illinois
2009 Green Town Chicago Conference, painted rain barrels, Chicago, Illinois
2009 Rain Barrel Project, Chicago Botanic Garden at Navy Pier, Chicago, Illinois
2009 Rain Barrel Project, City of Chicago water conservation awareness project
2009 Landfill Art Project (international)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wisconsin Artists: A Celebration of Jewish Presence, Carter and Reusch,, Marquette University Press., 1994
Harvest of Freedom, Louise Dunn Yochim, Am. References, Inc., 1989
Hours Of Devotion, ed. by Dinah Berland, 2007, Shocken Books
FILMOGRAPHY
2022 University of Illinois- Springfield: Making Our History: Artists Render Lincoln’s Legacies, by Storyteller Studios
2005 North Shore Art League Documentary Film, directed by Mark Siska
ILUSTRATIONS: PRINT, DIGITAL AND WEB PUBLICATIONS
Misaviv Jewish Calendar, Elul page illustration; 5779 (2019-20)
Yamim Noraim (zine), ed. by Tamar Nachmany, 2016
Story News, art feature
The Journal of the Sumi-e Society of America, Vol. 253, Spring, 2013
Conney Conference on Jewish Art, 2013, University of Wisconsin, illustrated lecture (video)
Shma Journal, featured artist, May, 2013
Queens College Journal of Jewish Studies, Spring, 2012
East On Central visual/literary magazine, 2010, ed. Judith Kaufman Tepfer, painting and photograph.
Proceedings of the 2009 Conney Conference On Jewish Arts, illustrated essay, ed. Prof. Douglas Rosenberg, U. of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center, 2009.
Zeek at Forward, featured artist, November, 2009.
Zeek at Jewcy, Rethinking Jewish Spirituality, (web) by Jay Michaelson, illustrations, May 20, 2009
Hours Of Devotion, book website designed by Zumwinkle.com, 2008
Letter Arts Review, Annual Juried Issue (print), 2007
The Passover Celebration, (book), Rabbi Leon Klenecki, ed., Liturgical Training Publications of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, 2001
Letter Arts Review, Wedding Issue (print), Summer 2005
Cleveland Jewish News, cover illustration (print), Spring, 2005
Marketing News, cover illustration (print), June 1, 2004
JUF News, illustration (print) for interview of Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Elie Wiesel, 1996
Heresies #13, Feminism and Ecology, art, Winter Issue, 1981
MEDIA
Lilith Magazine, “Can Art Change the World?”, review of One Nation and Tzedek Boxes exhibitions, 5-16-23.
The Forward, “How a New Jewish Holiday is Inspiring a New Jewish Ritual,” review of Tzedek Boxes exhibition, including Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters by Judith Joseph and Dorit Jordan Dotan; 4-21-23.
WTTW -TV CHICAGO, “The Invisible Costs of War” juried exhibition at ARC Gallery, Chicago,. Digesting History (woodcut) and Detained/ Contained (mylar onesie) are featured; 7-21-22.
The Jerusalem Post, “Multimedia Exhibit Focusing on Samaritans Premiers in New York,“ 3-29-22.
The Forward, “Jewish Museum Captures the Precarity- and Beauty- of American Jewish Life,” 1-14-22.
Jewish Chicago, A Fellowship of Artists Fuse Judaism and Contemporary Art, by Michelle Cohen, 10-26-22.
Images: A Journal of Jewish Art and Visual Culture, “Contemporary Jewish Artists Encounter Samaritan Culture, 2020-2022: Artists’ Perspectives”, by Richard McBee,
Washington Post, “Jewish Identity and Authenticity”, 4-30-21.
Jerusalem Post, “Authenticity of Jewish Art to be Celebrated”, 4-3-21.
Georgetown Hoya, “Georgetown Professor Explores Jewish Identity Through Art in New Exhibit”, 5-6-21
Washington Jewish Week, “New Exhibit Wrestles with the Jewish Question”, 4-12-21.
Baltimore Jewish Life, “A Year Late Jewish Art Exhibition Opens”, 4-8-21
East City Art, “Adas Israel Congregation Presents Authenticity and Identity Group Exhibition”, 4-5-21.
Gallery & Studio Arts Journal, “On the Recent Gallery & Studio Survey”, by Anne Ruder, Summer, 2020.
Detroit Jewish News, "Carrying On", 5-31-18
WLQV-AM, The Jewish Hour, interview with Rabbi Herschel Finman, 6-10-18
Jewish Independent, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, Art Shares Esthetic, Stories, 4-24-15
Voices of Conservative/ Masorti Judaism, The Artist’s Beit Midrash, by Sandy Starkman, 2015
North Shore Weekend West, 1-19-14
Trib Local: Congregation Solel Pays Tribute to the Freedom Riders on the 50th Anniversary of Their Historic Bus Rides (10-10-11)
Sun-Times Media, "New Art Commission Head Ready For Studio Tour," 10-4-11
Chicago Tribune Local, "Butterflies Take Flight in Downtown", 5-1-11Sun-Times Media, "Artist Creates Ketubah for Second Generation of Patrons", 11-8-10
WBEZ Eight Forty Eight: "New Exhibition Explores Our Financial, Emotional and Spiritual Debts", 8-3-10
Natural Awakenings Magazine, Back Cover Artist, November 2010
Spotlight On The Arts, Northbrook Community Television feature program, October 2010
Chicago Reader, 7-22-10
Chicago Tribune Local, 6-10
North Shore Magazine, 5/09
Ageless North Shore, 5/09
Pioneer Press 7/08
Chicago Jewish News, 5/2/08
Pioneer Press, 9/07
Northbrook Star, 1/07
Milwaukee Journal, 4/94, 5/94, 8/94
New Art Examiner, 11/83
CURATOR
2020-21 Jewish Art Salon Open Studios web programs, co-curator and host, with Dorit Jordan Dotan
2014-20 Artists’ Beit Midrash, Arthur Feldman Gallery, Highland Park, IL and NSS Beth El, Highland Park, IL
2011 The Ties That Bind, article and curated online exhibit by Judith Joseph, Jewish Art Now
2010 Coming To Fruition: Painting with Judith Joseph, Heller Nature Center, Highland Park, Illinois
2009 The Healing Power of Art, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois and New Visions Gallery, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin
CURATOR/ JUROR
2020-2023 Curator and Moderator of Jewish Art Salon Open Studios live web programs, with Dorit Jordan Dotan.
2012 and 2010 Annual Exhibition, Northbrook Public Library, Northbrook, Illinois
2010 Chicago Calligraphy Collective, Newberry Library, Chicago, Illinois
2010-16 Cuneo Gardens, Deerfield, Northbrook, Yorktown and Glenview, Illinois art fairs
2009 Illinois Wesleyan U., Deerfield, and Cuneo Gardens, Illinois art fairs
2008 Annual Juried Exhibition, Northbrook Public Library, Northbrook, Illinois
2008 Northbrook, Glenview Art League and Highwood, Illinois art fairs
PEDAGOGICAL ACTIVITIES (SELECTED)
2002- present, Painting Faculty, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, Illinois
2003- present, Painting Faculty, The Art Center, Highland Park, Illinois
2009, 2013 Presenter, Conney Conference On Jewish Arts, University of Wisconsin
2014-21 Artists’ Beit Midrash, NSSBE, Highland Park, Illinois
2018-21 Orot Center for New Jewish Learning
2013 Guest Speaker, Sumi-E Society of the Midwest, Glencoe, Illinois
2010 Guest Speaker, Lake Forest College
2010-11 Workshops, PerficalSense Studio, Evanston, Illinois
2010 Workshops, Whispering Woodlands, Paoli, Wisconsin
2010 Artist-In-Residence, Beth Emet Congregation, Evanston, Illinois
2000-2007 North Shore Art League, painting instructor
1996-98 Artist Demonstrations, The Art Institute Of Chicago
1995- 2005 Northside Catholic Academy, art teacher
2002-present Adult Study Coordinator, Congregation Hakafa, Glencoe, IL
AFFILIATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS
Affiliated Leader, Day Eight, Washington, D.C.
Jewish Artists Collective Chicago
Chicago Calligraphy Collective