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Moses Myers House

323 E. Freemason St.
Open Saturday and Sunday

Noon–5 p.m.

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Reading Room
Wednesday-Friday
10 a.m.–5 p.m.

About the Myers House

The oldest Jewish home in America open to the public as a museum offers a glimpse of the life of an early 19th century merchant family.
More about the house

About the Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

Located in Norfolk

One Memorial Place,
Norfolk, VA
Get Directions

While You're Here

Visit our Museum Shop
and Zinnia Cafe.

Perry Glass Studio

A state-of-art facility on the Museum’s campus. See a free glassmaking demo Tuesdays–Sunday at noon. Like what you see? Take a class with us! More about the Studio

The Myers House

The home of the first permanent Jewish residents of Norfolk, this historic house offers a glimpse of the life of a wealthy early 19th-century merchant family.
More about the house

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the Library

Wedding & Event Rentals

The perfect place for your big day or special event. Get the details

In-person Tours

Group tours are available for groups of 20 or fewer. More about tours

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Visit one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

About the Chrysler

Our story spans well over 100 years. See where we began, how we grew, and where we're going. Explore our history

News and Announcements

See what's happening at the Museum, read Chrysler Magazine, and find our Media Center. Read now

Location

One Memorial Place
Norfolk, VA 23510

Location

745 Duke Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-333-6299

Always Free Parking

Get Directions

Visiting Artist Series

Bringing the world’s top glass art talent to Hampton Roads
Find out more

Studio Team

Meet the brilliant minds behind the Studio.
See the team

Give the Chrysler Experience

Share everything you love about the Chrysler Museum with a gift membership. Perfect for everyone on your list.

The Masterpiece Society

Learn about this innovative group of museum supporters.
Meet the Masterpiece Society

Planned Giving

Help ensure the long-term success of the Museum.
Learn about planned giving

Moses Myers House

323 E. Freemason St.
Open Saturday and Sunday

Noon–5 p.m.

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Reading Room
Wednesday-Friday
10 a.m.–5 p.m.

About the Myers House

The oldest Jewish home in America open to the public as a museum offers a glimpse of the life of an early 19th century merchant family.
More about the house

About the Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Art Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

Located in Norfolk

One Memorial Place,
Norfolk, VA
Get Directions

While You're Here

Visit our Museum Shop
and Zinnia Cafe.

Perry Glass Studio

A state-of-art facility on the Museum’s campus. See a free glassmaking demo Tuesdays–Sunday at noon. Like what you see? Take a class with us! More about the Studio

The Myers House

The home of the first permanent Jewish residents of Norfolk, this historic house offers a glimpse of the life of a wealthy early 19th-century merchant family.
More about the house

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

With an extensive collection of more than 106,000 rare and unique volumes relating to the history of art, the Jean Outland Chrysler Library is one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the Library

Wedding & Event Rentals

The perfect place for your big day or special event. Get the details

In-person Tours

Group tours are available for groups of 20 or fewer. More about tours

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

Visit one of the most significant art libraries in the South. More about the library

About the Chrysler

Our story spans well over 100 years. See where we began, how we grew, and where we're going. Explore our history

News and Announcements

See what's happening at the Museum, read Chrysler Magazine, and find our Media Center. Read now

Location

One Memorial Place
Norfolk, VA 23510

Location

745 Duke Street
Norfolk, VA 23510
757-333-6299

Always Free Parking

Get Directions

Visiting Artist Series

Bringing the world’s top glass art talent to Hampton Roads
Find out more

Studio Team

Meet the brilliant minds behind the Studio.
See the team

Give the Chrysler Experience

Share everything you love about the Chrysler Museum with a gift membership. Perfect for everyone on your list.

The Masterpiece Society

Learn about this innovative group of museum supporters.
Meet the Masterpiece Society

Planned Giving

Help ensure the long-term success of the Museum.
Learn about planned giving

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ArtExhibitionsPast

If You Thirst for a Homeland: Flame-worked glass by Dafna Kaffeman

On View

August 12, 2021 — December 12, 2021

Location

Glass Project Space

“If you thirst for a homeland and seek shelter in its bosom, love it and live in its mountains and valleys, its flora and fauna.”

Inspired by nature, the art of Dafna Kaffeman conveys the complexities of life in modern Israel. Kaffeman creates exquisitely crafted plant replicas using flame-worked glass. These botanical specimens reflect the natural world of the artist’s homeland. The glass plants are combined with Hebrew and Arabic words printed or embroidered on soft white fabric, including handkerchiefs which are often associated with Jewish cultural practices of celebration, commemoration, sacrifice, and mourning. Each plant the artist renders in glass has its own cultural and historical meaning.

 

(Banner image: Dafna Kaffeman (Israeli, b. 1972), The Rule of Law, 2020, Flame-worked glass and paper, Photo credit: Elad Sarig)

Dafna Kaffeman (Israeli, b. 1972)
If you thirst for a homeland and seek shelter in its bosom, love it and live in its mountains and valleys, its flora and fauna, 2017
Cotton Plant series
Flame-worked glass and printed text on felt
Photo credit: Eric Tschernow

Many artworks in the exhibition include quotations that have been pulled directly from newspaper articles describing current events in Israel. “I think it makes a difference whether such incidents are forgotten or instead remain in our memories,” Kaffeman said. Other artworks incorporate excerpts from a 1965 field guide to Israeli plants, including the particularly poignant line, “If you thirst for a homeland and seek shelter in its bosom, love it and live in its mountains and valleys, its flora and fauna.”

The combination of glass with text and fabric ignites both an intellectual and emotional response. The fragility of the glass botanicals emphasizes the fragility of all life; the Hebrew and Arabic texts may be indecipherable to many viewers, making the works feel ancient or exotic. In addition to mixed-media and flame-worked glass artworks, the exhibition will also include works on paper to further extend the artist’s meditation on nature, culture, and conflict.

 

 

 

Dafna Kaffeman (Israeli, b. 1972)
Cotton plant burned alive, 2017
Cotton Plant series
Flame-worked glass and printed text on felt
Photo credit: Elad Sarig

View the exhibition monograph to read more about Dafna Kaffeman’s artistic process and the symbolism in the glass plants: click here.

If You Thirst for a Homeland: Flame-worked glass by Dafna Kaffeman is co-curated by Trudy Wiesenberger of the Cleveland-Israel Arts Connection, a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, and Carolyn Swan Needell, Ph.D., the Chrysler Museum of Art’s Carolyn and Richard Barry Curator of Glass. The exhibition will travel from Norfolk to the Roe Green Gallery at the Jewish Federation of Cleveland in 2022.

Support for the exhibition is generously provided by the Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts and by Cynthia and Stuart Katz.

More special exhibitions

On view right now

Painting of parents and child on floral background
Through March 31, 2024

Hampton Roads Student Gallery
Exhibition Details

Intricate glass vessel. A speckled dragon, spirals up the stem creating a handle.
Through August 18, 2024

Fantastic Creatures of the Venetian Lagoon: Glass 1875-1915
Exhibition Details