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'{{Short description|American painter}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox artist | honorific_prefix = | name = Abshalom Jac Lahav | honorific_suffix = | image = Abshalom jac lahav.JPG | image_size = | alt = | caption = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1977|04|04}} | birth_place = [[Jerusalem]], Israel | death_date = | death_place = | resting_place = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = American | education = [[Master of Fine Arts]] | alma_mater = [[Wesleyan University]], [[School of Visual Arts]], [[Cooper Union]], [[Brooklyn College]] | known_for = Painting | notable_works = ''48 Jews'', ''The Great Americans'', ''Slaves'' | style = | movement = | spouse = | awards = | elected = | patrons = | memorials = | website = {{URL|www.jaclahav.com}} | module = }} '''Abshalom Jac Lahav''' (born April 4, 1977) ({{lang-he|אבשלום ג'ֵק להב}}) is a New York City–based artist. He is known for his series ''48 Jews'' and ''The Great Americans, and'' Foster Paintings which have been shown at museums such as Lyman Allyn Art Museum, The Slater Art Museum, The Florence Griswold Museum, The Longview MFA, Saginaw Art Museum, [[Richmond Art Museum]], [[Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art]], [[The Oregon Jewish Museum]] and [[Jewish Museum of Florida]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://richmondartmuseum.org/portfolio/the-great-americans-works-by-jac-lahav/|title=The Great Americans: Works by Jac Lahav - Richmond Art Museum|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newpaltz.edu/museum/exhibitions/screenplay.html|title=The Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art - SUNY New Paltz|website=www.newpaltz.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://portland.eventful.com/events/oregon-jewish-museum-present-works-abshalom-jac-/E0-001-021713421-0|title=The Oregon Jewish Museum present the works of Abshalom Jac Lahav|website=Eventful}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arilankin.com/tag/jewish-museum-of-florida/|title=Lahav's work at Jewish Museum of Florida|publisher=}}{{Dead link|date=November 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> His painting style implements well known images of famous people in modern contexts, but still references historical modes of painting and black-and-white photography through its use of monotone imagery.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chronogram.com/hudsonvalley/on-the-cover-abshalom-jac-lahav/Content?oid=2203419|title=On the Cover: Abshalom Jac Lahav|first=Brian K.|last=Mahoney|publisher=}}</ref> He is also the founder of the ''Midnight Society'', an artist-run [[Curatorial platform|curatorial project]] based in [[Brooklyn]], New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nansekawashima.com/spring-break-art-fair|title=Spring Break Art Show March 1st-7th 2016 - nansekawashima|website=www.nansekawashima.com}}</ref> In 2019, Lahav became a licensed foster parent. His work in the foster system inspired them to create a body of work focusing on bright blue abstract paintings, immersive vine plant installations, and eccentric sculptures. Lahav is also a well-known curator, arts writer, and social activist. ==Early life== Lahav was born in [[Jerusalem]], Israel in 1977, to [[Pnina Lahav|Pnina]] and Moshe Lahav. He lived in Israel before his parents settled in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. He attended undergraduate at [[Wesleyan University]] where he was a member of [[Eclectic Society (fraternity)|the Eclectic Society]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miamiartguide.com/48-jews-what-it-means-to-be-jewish/|title=48 Jews: What it Means to be Jewish|date=September 27, 2009|publisher=}}</ref> ==Education== In 2000, Lahav received a Bachelor of Arts degree in [[psychology]] from Wesleyan University, Connecticut. He studied painting at the [[School of Visual Arts]] and [[Cooper Union]] and received his [[Master of Fine Arts]] degree from [[Brooklyn College]], New York in 2008 where he studied under [[Vito Acconci]] and Keith Mayerson.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zeek.net/710cover/|title=Zeek - Karl Marx - Abshalom Jac Lahav|website=www.zeek.net}}</ref> ==Career== Lahav began his career at the [[The Jewish Museum of New York|Jewish Museum]], New York in an exhibition entitled ''Art Image and Warhol Connections'', showing alongside [[Deborah Kass]], [[Alex Katz]], and [[Ben Shahn]], the exhibition presented works by seven artists who directly responded to [[Andy Warhol]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thejewishmuseum.org/exhibitions/art-image-and-warhol-connections|title=Art, Image, and Warhol Connections|website=The Jewish Museum}}</ref> His series of paintings ''48 Jews'' and ''The Great Americans'' employ portraiture to question basic assumptions about the relationship of historical memory and collective identity. These works have been shown in several museums across the United States. ''48 Jews'' is a series of [[Andy Warhol|Warhol-esque]] [[portrait painting]]s of famous Jews that examines the representation of Jews in the diaspora while ''The Great Americans'' is a combination of American heroic, [[popular culture|pop culture]] and [[history painting]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.miamiartguide.com/48-jews-what-it-means-to-be-jewish/|title=48 Jews: What it Means to be Jewish|date=September 27, 2009|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://richmondartmuseum.org/portfolio/the-great-americans-works-by-jac-lahav/|title=The Great Americans: Works by Jac Lahav - Richmond Art Museum|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2009-10-18/features/0910150339_1_holocaust-museum-jewish-museum-admission|title=Calendar|publisher=}}</ref> In 2008, Lahav started an experimental painting series on ''Anne Frank''. The series questions the long afterlife of [[Anne Frank]]'s portrait and explored the intersection of pop culture and [[art history]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=g3rod73T6_MC ''Anne Frank Unbound''], [[Indiana University Press]], 2012, p.258.</ref> In 2009 Lahav began The Great Americans, featuring 7-foot-tall oil and acrylic portraits paintings of iconic Americans. MORE & CITATIONS Many of Lahav’s series are long-running explorations into identity, painting, and contemporary culture. This is exemplified by his work on [[Ruth Bader Ginsburg|Ruth Bader Ginsberg]] portraits (LINK) which the artist has been painting for over a decade. Lahav is a multi-disciplinary artist, involved in painting, installation, art writing, and curation. His curatorial endeavors include exhibiting work at the [[Spring/Break Art Show]] since 2015 where his original project received attention from the New York Times [[Bill Cunningham (American photographer)|Bill Cunningham]]. Additional curated exhibitions receive frequent mentions in Hyperallergic, Artnet News, Forbes, Artsy, Observer, and more. Lahav has also written about contemporary art with articles included in the CT Examiner, Artspiel, and Two Coats of Paint. Lahav’s social practice includes helping to create Public Art for Racial Justice Education, a group of volunteers in South Eastern CT. Their projects include large-scale murals and educational programs. Lahav is the lead artist for The Great American Project (LINK), a series of large-scale coloring book pages which are later reprinted on velvet and transformed into a giant tapestry of under-represented American histories. The GAP has appeared at the Mystic Seaport Museum CT, Mystic Aquarium CT, Westport MOCA CT, Wadsworth Atheneaum Museum, Bruce Museum CT, Florence Griswold Museum, Lyman Allyn Museum as well as libraries and schools. ==Selected solo exhibitions== * Lyman Allyn Museum, New London CT, 2023 * Slater Memorial Art Museum, Norwich CT, 2023 * Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme CT, 2019 * Longview MFA, Longview TX, 2018 * Saginaw Art Museum, Saginaw MI, 2018 * Koslowe Gallery, Westchester NY, 2014 * Richmond Art Museum, Richmond Indiana, The Great Americans, 2011 * Jewish Museum of Florida, Miami Florida, 48 Jews, 2010 * Oregon Jewish Museum, Portland Oregon, 48 Jews, 2009 * Jarmuschek + Partner, Berlin, Germany, 48 Jews: Selections from the Series, 2009 * Gallery 532 Thomas Jaeckel, NY, NY. The Great Americans, 2009 * Gallery 532 Thomas Jaeckel, NY, NY. Boundless, 2009 * Esther Prangley Rice Gallery, McDaniel College's, Md, 2007 ==References== {{reflist}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Lahav, Abshalom Jac}} [[Category:1977 births]] [[Category:Painters from New York City]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Artists from Jerusalem]] [[Category:American contemporary painters]] [[Category:Painters from New York (state)]] [[Category:20th-century American painters]] [[Category:American male painters]] [[Category:Brooklyn College alumni]] [[Category:Wesleyan University alumni]] [[Category:Israeli emigrants to the United States]] [[Category:Jewish American artists]] [[Category:Jewish painters]] [[Category:21st-century American Jews]] [[Category:20th-century American male artists]]'