Elke Reva Sudin

Last updated
Elke Reva Sudin
Born
Elke Engelson [1]

1987 (age 36–37)
Springfield, MA
Nationality (legal) American
Education Pratt Institute (BFA, 2009)
Known for Painting, illustration, fashion design
Spouse
Saul Sudin
​
(m. 2007)​
Website elkerevasudin.com

Elke Reva Sudin (born 1987) is an American painter, illustrator, fashion designer, and lecturer. In 2010, her Hipsters and Hassids painting series premiered in New York City, comparing and contrasting the Hasidic Jewish and hipster Brooklyn cultures. She founded the live sketching company Drawing Booth in 2014, and is also a founder of Jewish Art Now. In 2023, she launched a collection of luxury scarves with her own custom designs.

Contents

Early life and education

Sudin was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, and raised in nearby Longmeadow. [2] [3] She attended Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, earning a BFA in Illustration in 2009. [4]

Career

Broadway the Divide Gauche, ink, digital, 13" x 19", 2009 Elke Reva Sudin Broadway the Divide 2009.jpg
Broadway the Divide
Gauche, ink, digital, 13" x 19", 2009
Yael Oil on wood panel, 24" x 36", 2012 Elke Reva Sudin Yael 2012.jpg
Yael
Oil on wood panel, 24" x 36", 2012

Hipsters and Hassids

Sudin's 2010 Hipsters and Hassids series depicts the parallel lives of the disparate cultural groups in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, known for feuding over a variety of issues, such as whether or not there should be bicycle lanes down the Satmar stretch of Bedford Avenue. Sudin's colorful paintings examine the similarities and differences of north Williamsburg's hipster residents with south Williamsburg's Satmar Hasidic Jews, such as 2 am, with side-by-side paintings showing a group of partying community members, one of hipsters, one of Hasids. [5] [6] [7] To create the series, Sudin interviewed neighborhood residents in Williamsburg and made a drawing of them in her sketchbook with a felt-tip pen. She would later make acrylic paintings based on the drawings. [4] The series was originally produced as part of her senior BFA thesis at the Pratt Institute. [4] It premiered in 2010 in New York City. [3]

In the 2012 documentary Punk Jews (dir. Jesse Zook Mann), Sudin is profiled and presents paintings from Hipsters and Hassids. [6] [8]

Drawing Booth

In 2014, Sudin founded Drawing Booth, an event service in which a team of artists circulate among the guests and offer to create quick, realistic hand-drawn digital portraits using an iPad Pro and Apple Pencil. The portraits can be emailed, live-tweeted, projected at the event, or printed on-site and made available on archival-quality paper as 4" by 6" portraits. [9] [10] Past clients include L'Oreal, IBM, Disney, ESPN, Marriott Hotels, Bain Capital, Godiva and InStyle magazine. [9] [11]

Scarves

In 2023, at an event put on by the Jewish art collective Havurah, Sudin launched The Crown Collection, a series of silk head scarves. It is her first foray into fashion. [12] She views the collection as a statement of pride and a way to bring attention towards the tradition of hair covering as a married Orthodox Jewish woman, and of head covering in a religious context in general. [13] Some of the headscarf designs align with pressure points on the wearer's head, which Sudin learned about while studying reiki in India. [14]

Other work

Sudin has gained recognition for her 2009 series of portraits of World Boxing Association super welterweight champion boxer Yuri Foreman, which were exhibited as part of the DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival in 2009 at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn. [2]

In 2010, Sudin and her husband Saul Sudin founded the group Jewish Art Now, a website focused on contemporary Jewish art and culture. [8] [15] [16] They also founded SUDIN magazine, which explored similar topics and was later incorporated into Jewish Art Now. [2] She also served as artistic director of PresenTense magazine from 2011 to 2013. [17]

Her 2013 series We Are Patriarchs is a series of portraits reimagining Biblical figures as contemporary Jews living in modern-day Brooklyn. The 12 oil paintings debuted at the Hadas Gallery in Brooklyn in 2013. [18] A painting from the series, Joseph in Exile, was included in the 2016 exhibit Brooklyn: Juxtaposition at Repair the World in Brooklyn. [19] "An exceptionally large and well executed piece" that portrays Joseph and his Egyptian wife Osnat as Jews of color, [20] it was cited as the standout of the exhibit by Tablet magazine. [19]

Style

Sudin draws and paints portraits, urban landscapes and abstract conceptual landscapes, often with Jewish themes. She works on paper with watercolor and ink, on canvas with acrylics or oils, and also creates drawings using the iPad Pro. [21] [22]

Personal life

Sudin lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband, filmmaker Saul Sudin. [2]

Honors and awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hasidic Judaism</span> Religious subgroup of modern Judaism

Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism, is a religious movement within Judaism that arose as a spiritual revival movement in Poland and contemporary Western Ukraine, during the 18th century, and spread rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those affiliated with the movement, known as hassidim, reside in Israel and in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chabad</span> Hasidic Jewish movement

Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups as well as one of the largest Jewish religious organizations in the world. Unlike most Haredi groups, which are self-segregating, Chabad mainly operates in the wider world and it caters to secularized Jews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joel Teitelbaum</span> Grand Rebbe of Satmar Hasidim

Joel Teitelbaum was the founder and first Grand Rebbe of the Satmar dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Satmar</span> Romanian Hasidic dynasty

Satmar is a Hasidic group founded in 1905 by Grand Rebbe Joel Teitelbaum, in the city of Szatmárnémeti, Hungary. The group is an offshoot of the Sighet Hasidic dynasty. Following World War II, it was re-established in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough Park, Brooklyn</span> Neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City

Borough Park is a neighborhood in the southwestern part of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst to the south, Dyker Heights to the southwest, Sunset Park to the west, Kensington and Green-Wood Cemetery to the northeast, Flatbush to the east, and Mapleton to the southeast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Williamsburg, Brooklyn</span> Neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City

Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independent city until 1855, when it was annexed by Brooklyn; at that time, the spelling was changed from Williamsburgh to Williamsburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saul Raskin</span> American cartoonist

Saul Raskin was a Russian born American artist, writer, lecturer and teacher best known for his depiction of Jewish subjects.

The response of the Haredi Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York City, to allegations of sexual abuse against its spiritual leaders has drawn scrutiny. When teachers, rabbis, and other leaders have been accused of sexual abuse, authorities in the Haredi community have often failed to report offenses to Brooklyn police, intimidated witnesses, and encouraged shunning against victims and those members of the community who speak out against cases of abuse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itshak Holtz</span> Polish-Israeli-American painter

Itshak Jack Holtz was a Polish-born and an Israeli and American Orthodox Jewish painter, who is best known for his paintings and drawings that depict traditional scenes of Jewish life.

Chabad hipsters are the cross-acculturated members of the Chabad Hasidic community and contemporary hipster subculture. Beginning from the late 2000s through the 2010s, a minor trend of cross acculturation of Chabad Hasidism and hipster subculture appeared within the New York Jewish community. The first printed reference to this trend was the 2007 New York Press cover story, "Hipster Hassids" by Alyssa Pinsker. Later, according to The Jewish Daily Forward, a significant number of members of the Chabad Hasidic community, mostly residing in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, appear to now have adopted various cultural affinities of the local hipster subculture.

<i>Punk Jews</i> 2012 American film

Punk Jews is a 2012 American documentary film directed by Jesse Zook Mann and produced by Saul Sudin, Evan Kleinman, and Alexander Emanuele. The film profiles several non-traditional Orthodox Jewish artists, activists, and groups based in New York City.

Baruch Herzfeld is an American entrepreneur and the founder and president of Zeno Media and former owner of Traif Bike Geschaft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luzer Twersky</span> American film and television actor (born 1985)

Luzer Twersky is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role in the film Felix and Meira, for which he garnered a Jutra Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor at the 18th Jutra Awards and won the Best Actor award at the Amiens International Film Festival and the Torino International Film Festival.

Shulem Deen is an American author, essayist, former Skver Hasid, and critic of Hasidic Judaism. He is the author of the memoir All Who Go Do Not Return (2015), and is a regular columnist at The Forward. He is also the founding editor of Unpious, a journal for voices critical of Hasidic lifestyle and beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yosef Greenwald</span> Jewish Hasidic religious leader and Holocaust survivor

Yosef Greenwald was the second Rebbe of the Pupa Hasidic dynasty. Before World War II he was a rabbi and rosh yeshiva in Pápa, Hungary.

Ten Portraits of Jews of the Twentieth Century is a 1980 series of ten paintings by Andy Warhol. The series consists of ten silk-screened canvases, each 40 by 40 inches. Five editions of the series were made. The series was also produced by Warhol as a portfolio of screenprints on Lenox museum board comprising editions of 200, 30 Artist Proofs, 5 Printers Proofs, 3 EPs, and 25 unique Trial Proofs.

Unorthodox is a German drama television miniseries that debuted on Netflix on March 26, 2020. The first Netflix series to be primarily in Yiddish, it is inspired by Deborah Feldman's 2012 autobiography, Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots. The four-part miniseries was created and written by Anna Winger and Alexa Karolinski, and directed by Maria Schrader.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elke Solomon</span> American artist and author (1943–2024)

Elke Solomon was an American artist, curator, educator and community worker. She was known for her interdisciplinary practice that combines painting, drawing, object-making, performance and installation. Solomon exhibited widely in the United States and abroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hevria</span>

Hevria is an American Jewish arts and culture website and collective.

The Jewish-American working class consists of Jewish Americans who have a working-class socioeconomic status within the American class structure. American Jews were predominantly working-class and often working poor for much of American history, particularly between 1880 and the 1930s. During this period, Ashkenazi Eastern European Jewish immigrants constituted the majority of the Jewish-American working class. By the mid-1950s, the Jewish-American community had become predominantly middle class. Stereotypes commonly depict American Jews as fundamentally upwardly mobile and middle class to upper class. Despite the "imagined norm" that American Jews are "middle-class, white, straight Ashkenazi", many Jewish Americans are working class and around 15% of American Jews live in poverty.

References

  1. ↑ Leah Hakimian, "How Saul met Elke," The Jewish Week , October 9, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Adam Dickter, "Elke Reva Sudin, 23," The Jewish Week, May 9, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Susan Dunne, "'Hipsters and Hassids' At Mandell JCC," Hartford Courant , January 11, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 Sarah Schmerler, "Hipsters & Hassids - how one woman's sketchbook started a movement," Williamsburg Greenpoint News + Arts, October 14, 2011.
  5. ↑ Jenny Merkin, "'Hipsters and Hasids' Finds Parallels Between Two Worlds," Tablet , April 20, 2010.
  6. 1 2 Uri Zer Aviv, "Brooklyn's Hipster Hasidim Try on a New Fringe," Haaretz , December 18, 2012.
  7. ↑ Beth Stebner, "Old-meets-new for Modern Orthodox artist fresh off exhibiting work in Miami," New York Daily News , December 11, 2013.
  8. 1 2 John Leland, "The Orthodox Fringe," The New York Times , March 9, 2013.
  9. 1 2 Lisa Klug, "When artists meet technology, digital party favors follow," The Times of Israel , January 23, 2016.
  10. ↑ Dan Johnson, "A Sketchy Idea for Your Next Event," Smart Meetings, May 2, 2016.
  11. ↑ Claire Stern, "InStyle's Ariel Foxman, Diane von Furstenberg, and More Toast StyleWatch Editor-in-Chief Lisa Arbetter," InStyle , September 10, 2015.
  12. ↑ Gergely, Julia (16 May 2023). "A fashion show in Tribeca attempts to capture 'The Jewish Uniform'". jta.org. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  13. ↑ "Meet Elke Reva Sudin". shoutoutcolorado.com. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  14. ↑ Prince, Cathryn J. "An artist is celebrating her Judaism with a line of luxurious headscarves for women". timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Mordechai Shinefield, "South Philly Synagogue Opens Doors to Cutting-Edge Contemporary Art," The Jewish Exponent , January 19, 2012.
  16. 1 2 3 "Week #10 Finalist: Elke Reva Sudin," Art Sprinter, May 7, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Eye on Jewish art: Former HHNE student named one of '36 Under 36'," Connecticut Jewish Ledger , July 20, 2011.
  18. ↑ Richard McBee, "We Are Patriarchs: Paintings by Elke Reva Sudin," The Jewish Press , February 15, 2013.
  19. 1 2 Jesse Bernstein, "Celebrating the Diversity of Brooklyn's Crown Heights Neighborhood Through Art," Tablet, July 1, 2016.
  20. ↑ Jonathan Greenstein, "Jewish and Multiethnic Art Comes to Crown Heights," Algemeiner Journal , July 5, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Elke Reva Sudin: 'I Found My Connection to Judaism Through Art'," Art Sprinter, June 17, 2015.
  22. ↑ Annelisa Stephan, "J. M. W. Turner, Now for iPad," The Iris, May 7, 2015.
  23. ↑ "36 Under 36 2011," Archived 2016-10-12 at the Wayback Machine The Jewish Week, May 9, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Elke Sudin". forbes.com. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.