Featuring the work of approximately a dozen contemporary artists, this exhibition will highlight books and, in some cases, series of individual pages, inspired by the Hebrew Bible and other sacred Hebrew texts. The works on view will underscore the relevance of the Bible to present-day book artists and emphasize how these artists garner personally resonant artistic subject matter from the source materials.

The range and approach to subject matter is quite broad and the techniques and methods used by the artists are equally varied.  Some artists treat the texts as subjects – as inspiration for creating new volumes – while others treat them as objects to be physically altered.  Still others explore the boundaries of the single printed page using ages-old techniques like micrography, illumination, and paper-cutting.  Examples include literal cuttings of biblical texts, images of Adam and Eve, works based on the Kabbalah, and personal interpretations of biblical stories such as those of Jonah, Esther, and the Noachian Flood. Rather than merely illustrating the stories that emanate from the texts, each artist individually interrogates, challenges, and extends the texts.

The contemporary book arts emphasize in microcosm the breadth and depth of artistic motivation drawn from the sources at hand, and they underscore MOBIA’s motto: “One book, a world of art”.

Major support for MOBIA’s exhibitions and programs has been provided by American Bible Society and by Howard and Roberta Ahmanson. As Subject and Object: Contemporary Book Artists Explore Sacred Hebrew Texts is made possible by the generous support of The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Robert and Sandra Bowden, Reed and Sarah Bowden, and Graham and Magdalena Laws.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Support for educational programs is provided, in part, by The New York Community Trust.