metalworker

Don\’t get Chava Wolpert Richard started on the subject of kitschy Jewish ceremonial art.\n\n\”Those blue-and-green seder plates — such ugliness!\” says Richard, a metalworker whose sleek, modern designs are featured in the collections of museums such as the Skirball and the Smithsonian. \”There is so much clumsy Judaica that is copied from 17th- or 18th-century work. But I believe that new concepts can give people a sense of Judaism\’s relevance to the present. Using a Jewish ceremonial object should be an aesthetic experience that brings contemporary meaning to the mitzvah.\”