Selling art, strengthening community
Two-day pop-up show in Tenafly allows visitors to buy great pieces, support Israel
Paintings and sculptures by 42 artists will be on sale in Tenafly this weekend in a special event benefitting the Israel Emergency Fund of the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades.
The Artists for Israel initiative was conceived by Olga Roginkin of Edgewater and her sister and co-creator, Victoria Tentler-Krylov of Closter. Ms. Tentler-Krylov is an award-winning illustrator and author whose works have been featured in publications including the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.
“Working on this project is how Victoria and I deal with the catastrophe,” Ms. Roginkin said.
“We were all hit with paralyzing anger and disbelief on October 7. Immediately after, we started helping Israel by volunteering our time, money, and resources. However, for Victoria and me that did not seem enough. We wanted to take a more active stance and organize something bigger.
“We started thinking about various ways to implement this effort. Victoria, a brilliant artist, is entrenched in the artistic community of New York and Boston and has many established and famous friends and colleagues all over the country. It was Victoria’s idea to create a platform that would organize the artists while giving the public a chance to view the exhibit, buy art, and support Israeli charities that need our donations right now.
“That is how the art sale and fundraiser for Israel took shape.”
Ms. Tentler-Krylov is both the curator and a contributor. “I put out a call for submissions, then screened and carefully selected 42 artists whose work ranges from oils and pastels to decorative pieces and wearable art,” she said.
“While I want the show to look cohesive and streamlined, my goal is not to enforce my own artistic taste but rather to offer the public unique original pieces that are most likely to attract collectors and buyers and fetch maximum proceeds. Our only goal is raising money for the cause. Everything else is secondary to this goal.”
Each piece will be labeled with a “charity split” signifying that the artist will donate a portion of the proceeds, ranging from 50 percent to 100 percent, for charitable purposes.
People who come to the sale are under no obligation to buy any of the art, or to to make a donation, but donations are welcome.
Once the sisters decided to organize the pop-up exhibition and sale, they began looking for the right venue. Someone recommended a ground-floor space owned by Orly Chen, an Israeli American real estate agent in Tenafly.
Ms. Chen and Daphna Arad of Englewood Cliffs organized the empty Shabbat table rally in Tenafly on October 27 to raise awareness of the plight of the hostages held in Gaza.
“We were fortunate to meet Orly, who generously offered us the use of her space in the center of Tenafly, which happened to be a perfect art exhibit studio,” Ms. Roginkin said. “Many volunteers committed to help with preparing for the exhibit and during the event itself.”
Ms. Arad and Ms. Chen are handling many of the sale’s logistical aspects.
“The idea is not just raising money to help more people in Israel but also people getting together,” Ms. Arad said. “We believe in the power of community.”
The Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, Temple Emanu-El of Closter, Temple Sinai of Tenafly, Lubavitch on the Palisades, Brothers and Sisters for Israel, the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades, Magen David Adom, and Israel Gives all are publicizing the show. Ms. Arad said she hopes non-Jewish supporters also will come to the exhibit and sale, as they did to the empty Shabbat table meeting.
On November 4, she and her friend Madlen Meger joined about 500 people walking around the reservoir in Central Park to raise awareness for the hostages’ plight.
“It seems like things are getting worse,” Ms. Arad said. “It’s been over a month, and the families of the hostages are in emotional distress and understandably getting impatient. We hear rumors about some hostages possibly being released.
“Although we would welcome this, we really need everybody back home. And we really need the Red Cross to visit and tell us if the hostages are okay. Are the babies okay? Are the elderly able to get their medicine?
“Until then, we are not sleeping.”
The 42 artists whose works will be available at the two-day event include Oksana Berzinsh, Liah Caspi, Anya Ellia, Anton Ginzburg, Lana Kerre, Elina Kogan, Alyona Mak, Tali Margolin, Selina Narovlansky, Galit Oelsner, Alexandra Rozenman, Masha Ryskin, Alexandra Vainshtein, Mari Saxon, Michal Seidenman, Irina Sigalovsky, Grigori Shafiro, Mikhail Shapiro, Danit Sharir-Reichenberg, Mitchell Schorr, Ann Shteynblik, Vladimir Zimakov, and Ina Zhukovsky Zilber.
What: A two-day art sale to benefit the Kaplen JCC on the Palisades’ Israel Emergency Fund
Where: 6 West Railroad Avenue, Tenafly
When: Saturday, November 18, from 6 to 9 p.m. and Sunday, November 19, from noon to 4 p.m., including a kosher wine and cheese reception
How to pay for purchases: Cash, check, Venmo
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