Reimagined

Mark Podwal is a celebrated artist whose work is represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Israel Museum, the Jewish Museum in Prague, among many others. He may have been best known initially for his drawings on The New York Times Op-Ed page. In addition, he is the author and illustrator of numerous books. Most of these works - Podwal's own as well as those he has illustrated for others - typically focus on Jewish legend, history, and tradition. In 1995, the French government named Podwal an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. Elie Wiesel is a Romanian-born Jewish writer, professor, political activist, and Nobel Laureate. He is the author of over fifty titles, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps. Cynthia Ozick is an American'Jewish short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Elisheva Carlebach is an American scholar of early modern Jewish history and a professor of Jewish history, culture, and society at Columbia University.

Mark Podwal's work "celebrates Israel's greening, encompasses dream-like visions of Prague, black-and-white linear journeys into holidays, and both pastel and richly hued mystical icons. One can dip into Podwal's sea of work again and again." Hadassah Magazine, February 1, 2017 Mark Podwal is one of those startling soulsthey are very fewwho can imagine, through the power of a unifying eye, connections so new that they shake the brain into fresh juxtapositions of understanding. He can turn a book into a city. He can form limbs of a man out of letters of the alphabet. A menorah, inverted, is all at once shocked into the shape of railroad tracks. A child's noisemaker can become a gallows for the wicked. -- Cynthia Ozick Tablet Magazine This book is a wonder to behold, especially for lovers of art, books, and Judaica. -- Marcia G. Welsh Library Journal "Podwal employs incisive and often intricate line work to create stark images that reveal vivid emotions and tell complicated stories. Although the drawings' topics are serious ones, his work shows enormous wit and frequently has charming whimsical touches."Those who take the time to experience the work of both [Elie] Wiesel and [Mark] Podwal may find their response to Podwal's work reminiscent of how they felt after reading Wiesel's Night. Like Wiesel's words, Podwal's art transcends mere images on paper to serve as a witness to the Jewish historical experience." -- Marilyn Cooper Moment Magazine In this extended collection, the reader encounters the diverse array of works that represent and span Podwal's illustrious career; from the whimsical, such as Matzoh Moon and Talmud Typewriter, to the political, such as Munich Massacre and Annexing Arab Anger, to the religious, which includes Passover Haggadah illustrations and textile designs from the world's most historic synagogues. -- Steven Heller Print Magazine Lyrical, joyous, yet often simultaneously sad, the compilation of drawings and paintings by Mark Podwal in his new book - Reimagined, 45 Years of Jewish Art (Glitterati)- speaks volumes of how the artist views the plights and predicaments of Jews through time and place. -- Toby Saltzman Canadian Jewish News, September 27, 2016 Podwal's hand is distinctive. But if it's easy to identify the artist, the viewer is, nonetheless, repeatedly surprised by Podwal's imagery and wit and codes of meaning he layers into his work. -- Sandee Brawarsky Jewish Week ...this art can help us visualize and encourage prayer." -- Lil Copan The Christian Century "Where Kabbalah and Mad Magazine meet, Mark Podwal is the product." -- Anne Roiphe Forward Podwal's artistic vision layers witty juxtapositions of Jewish ritual objects and symbols upon deep historical and theological research. So careful is the artist's attention to detail -- Menachem Wecker National Catholic Reporter, November 4th-November 17th 2016 lavishly illustrated evoke[s] the joys and sorrows of Jewish life over time. -- Francine Klagsbrun The Jewish Week, December 6, 2016