HILLEL SMITH, TORAH PORTION EXHIBIT – ARTIST / GRAPHIC DESIGNER

We are excited to present an art exhibit at Temple Isaiah January – February of Artist Hillel Smith’s “Parsha Posters,” a collection of concert posters inspired by each Torah Portion. This series was a year-long collection of illustrations and will be displayed in the Temple Lobby.

Hillel was raised on a diet of Spider-man and X-men; he discovered street art around age 12 while biking through painted alleys en route to the comic shop. Although he was interested in the rituals and stories of his people, he found little inspiration in his Orthodox day school education. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in visual studies, he returned to Los Angeles where he began to experiment with spray paint. Realizing that LA’s mural scene was deeply influenced by the heritage of its artists, but that the Jewish voice was not represented, he began to paint large Hebrew murals around the city. He has since also painted Hebrew murals in Israel, and at the Fendi headquarters in Rome, bringing a new aesthetic to Jewish text. In addition, Hillel lectures on the history of Hebrew design and teaches workshops where he encourages participants to express their identity through art. Hillel’s redefinition of the bounds of Jewish art extends to other projects that meld traditional content with modern design.