Discover a Bold New Portrait Exhibition
Get an exclusive first look at 48 Jews: Layers of Identity, a vibrant new art experience that explores the many facets of Jewish identity in the modern world. Through striking portraits by contemporary artist Abshalom Jac Lahav, this exhibit celebrates influential figures—like Golda Meir, Harry Houdini, Albert Einstein, Emma Lazarus, and even Elvis Presley—whose lives reflect the diversity, complexity, and enduring narratives of Jewish experience.
The plurality and complexity of modern Jewish identity in the Diaspora emerge through this vivid portrait series. Public images of Jewish icons, translated into paintings with shifting representational styles, celebrate contributions, challenge assumptions, and raise questions.
OPENING PREVIEW SCHEDULE
6:45 p.m. – Doors open
7:00 p.m. – Light appetizer, dessert and wine reception
7:25 p.m. – Welcome remarks
7:30 p.m. – ‘Looking Beneath the Layers’, talk by artist Abshalom Jac Lahav
8:15 p.m. – Exhibit at a glance with Jac Lahav and Chief Curator Molly Dubin
Why You Should Attend
- Meet the artist: Hear directly from Abshalom Jac Lahav about his creative process and the ideas behind the portraits.
- Celebrate identity and culture: Experience thought-provoking art that sparks conversation about identity, history, and community.
- Connect with others: Enjoy a festive reception with light bites, drinks, and dialogue in a welcoming atmosphere.
Program Info
DATE: Thursday, March 5, 2026
TIME: 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Jewish Museum Milwaukee
COST: Members $18 | Nonmembers $25
About the Artist
Born in Jerusalem Israel in 1977, Jac Lahav is among an influential cadre of contemporary American artists whose work employs a wide range of media to explore themes of art history, individual and shared cultural identities, personal narratives, literature, psychology, materiality, and familial structures.
Lahav received a BA in Psychology from Wesleyan University CT and studied for his masters at Brooklyn College NY. Lahav’s practice quickly expanded to embrace a wide range of media including sculpture, painting, drawing, and installation, yielding a complex multidisciplinary practice that incorporates diverse materials rich with symbolism and personal history.
Lahav’s work is known for its narrative embedding of a pointed range of everyday materials and objects, often associated with his childhood and frequently referencing aspects of history and cultural identity. Many of Lahav’s more recent works delve into existential themes such as meditations on personal and collective anxiety, immigrant assimilation, non-linear family frameworks, and the painted surface.
Exhibit Sponsors
Anonymous Fund*
Susan Lubar
Ettinger Family Foundation
Greater Milwaukee Foundation
Joseph R. Pabst at the Cream City Foundation
Milwaukee Arts Board
Jane & Stephen Chernof
Cathy & Randy Nemerovski
Neena & Richard Florsheim
Christine Gould
Gene & Ruth Posner Foundation
Jason Steigman & Dori Frankel Steigman
Shirley Bankier & Mark Plotkin*
*Donor Advised Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation
About the Images
All images created by Jac Lahav. Oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in. 48 Jews series. Banner (left to right):
1. Cantor (Gladys Mae Sellers, AKA, Madame Goldye Steiner), 2026;
2. Triple Play (Hank Greenberg), 2026;
3. 1974 (Golda Meir), 2026;
4. Shtetl Yellow (Marc Chagall), 2017;
5. Mercury (Frida Kahlo), 2025;
6. Sparrow Song (Bob Dylan), 2026;
7. Notorious in Red (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), 2018;
8. Drift of Thought (Elie Wiesel) (v3), 2013;
9. Anne Frank;
10. The Darkness Of (Leonard Nimoy), 2010.