‘The Light of the Revival: Stained-Glass Design for Restituted Synagogues of Ukraine’ by Eugeny Kotlyar

An opening reception will be held on September 10 from 2 to 4 p.m.

The exhibition offers a broad perspective on the revival of Ukrainian synagogues after Ukraine’s independence, showcasing three sets of stained-glass windows that were designed by Eugeny Kotlyar and partially implemented in Ukrainian synagogues from 1995 to 2005. Two early works shown here were the first samples of stained-glass designs for modern Ukrainian synagogues, which set a new trend.

The first of them, stained-glass windows for the Kharkiv Choral Synagogue (1995), is on the theme of Jewish holidays. The second project—an ensemble of stained-glass windows for the Kyiv synagogue in Podil (2002)—focuses on the holy places of the land of Israel and the tribes of Israel. The third work, Jerusalem and the Tribes of Israel, is a part of the original design of the Torah Ark itself in the Galitska synagogue in Kyiv (2005). In Kotlyar’s artistic vision, the stained-glass window projects the light, turns the metaphysical into the physical, materializes the speculative image, and, ultimately, fills the prayer with color and light.

This exhibition is made possible thanks to the generosity of Fordham Trustee Henry S. Miller, Bruce Beal, Eugene Shvidler, GABELLI ’92, and anonymous donors to the Center for Jewish Studies at Fordham.