Art Gallery

The Art Gallery at B'nai Amoona aims to inspire creativity and engage audiences of all ages. Visitors will be treated to the contemporary fine artworks of local artists - both established and up-and-coming. Our seasonal art shows are juried by a dedicated committee of lifelong artists and art-lovers who welcome all to submit their work for consideration. Submission information can be obtained by contacting our Art Gallery Committee Chair, Lester Goldman, at artgallery@bnaiamoona.com.

The B'nai Amoona Art Gallery is located in the Krupat Oberman Community Lounge and neighboring lobby area outside of the Guller Chapel.

Current Exhibition:
Tsila Schwartz, Judaica Artist
& Mark Witzling, Abstract Impressionist Painter

Be sure to join us at our artist receiption on Sunday, October 23!

About this show:
Tsila Schwartz—known as the Ketubah Lady— is a native of Jerusalem who makes her home in St. Louis. She is a Jewish calligrapher and folk artist who specializes in traditional Jewish ceremonial texts. These include Ketubahs (Jewish wedding contracts), illustrated certificates, amulets, Tallitot (prayer shawls) and Torah covers.

She designed the Torah covers for Brit Shalom Kinesset (now Kol Rinah). She also designed the logo for the national Jewish CAJE Conference. In addition, she illustrated the book Rooms of the Soul by Howard Schwartz and her calligraphy appears in his books Elijah’s Violin and Leaves from the Garden of Eden. She also created covers for the books Adam’s Soul, The Collected Tales of Howard Schwartz and The Book of Jewish Women’s Tales edited by Barbara Rush. She provided covers for the anthologies of St. Louis Writers: First Harvest, New Harvest and Winter Harvest.

She has also designed birth certificates and many certificates of appreciation for the Synagogues of St. Louis. She was an art teacher at Solomon Schechter when it was in the B’nai Amoona building. She created created numerous Ketubahs with the late Rabbi Bernard Lipnick (Z"L). Her web site is: www.ketubahlady.blogspot.com

Mark Witzling’s path to artistic memory keeper has been decades in the making. As a marketing and branding strategist, Mark spent his professional career around writers, designers and artists who visually shaped his ideas. It wasn’t until he was in his 40’s and on a trip to Italy that he was moved to helm his own creative trek. Stirred by the frescos of Rome and Florence, where art was intended to be part of the landscape, he picked up a brush when he returned home, diving headfirst into a variety of creative experiences to unleash his own artistic ambition.  His foundation began in representational oil painting, but the combination of oil and cold wax together with more introspective subjects steered him toward abstract art. Studying in the studios of various artists he began to hone his craft.  He has studied in studios across the country, from Santa Fe and Albuquerque  to Wisconsin and Montana.  He continues to paint regularly in the same studio where he started over 15 years ago, and is pleased to have his own dedicated studio space in hometown outside of St. Louis. 

Mark’s work has touched a variety of audiences. His award-winning abstract oil and cold wax paintings have been presented in galleries, group and solo shows and in private collections from the Midwest to New York, Berlin, and Mumbai, and adorn the walls of organizations, homes and businesses.  His first solo show was held in 2013 at Picasso’s in St. Charles, Missouri and he has since had solo exhibitions at locations such as the Renaissance Hotel, Space Design, Third Degree Glass, Starlight Gallery and 1900 Park Creative.  Based in St. Louis, Mark is a member of the Greater St. Louis Art Association, St. Louis Artist Guild, and Art St. Louis, and he is a past board member of MySLArt.  Mark is a juried member of Best Of Missouri Hands and was selected as a St. Louis Art Fair Emerging Artist participant.  Mark and his art have been featured in multiple print and television interviews and his art is included in the recently (2017) published book Cold Wax Medium – Techniques, Concepts, Conversations by Crowell & McLaughlin. His work can be found online at MarkWitzlingArt.com.