Sharon Binder - Israeli Artist

Sharon Binder - Calligrapher and Artist

Sharon Binder was born in New York, where she was graduated from Queens College with a B.A. in art. As an undergraduate, she also attended the Teachers’ Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. While still a student, she contributed to the renaissance of the art of illuminated ketubot (marriage contracts), several of which are on display today in Jewish museums and private collections around the world. For the past twenty years she has lived and worked in Jerusalem.

Sharon’s interest in Hebrew letters led to her mastery of calligraphy, which she studied in Toronto, Canada with Alf Ebsen and Nona Brown. Using the letters as her key element, she developed a technique of screen printing and design that combines contemporary graphics with Judaic motifs.

Her unique combination of art and crafts has been applied to the creation of major works for the home, institutions and synagogues. Torah covers, wall hangings, wood carvings, designs in metal, paper and fabric have flowed from her designs. In 1995 she exhibited a hand-illustrated and calligraphed Book of Ruth at the Yeshiva University Museum in New York. Other exhibits of her work and handicrafts have been held in Jerusalem, London, Boston, Philadelphia, and Houston. Specially commissioned pieces have been presented to such dignitaries as the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the late King Hussein of Jordan.

The sukkah panels that Sharon has designed represent her synthesis of mixed media and Hebrew letters. Representations of the seven species with which the land of Israel is blessed are combined with appropriate Biblical verses to convey the theme and environment of the annual harvest festival. The designs have been reproduced on weatherproof plasticized canvas, and include depictions of the etrog and lulav used on the festival, as well as the traditional Biblical “shepherds” who are invited each evening to enter the sukkah. Sharon has added seven companions to these spiritual guests, in order to represent outstanding Biblical women.

The artist applies her expertise in such diverse media as painting, pen-and-ink, typography and fabric appliqué to a wide range of projects. She is available for consultation on private commissions, by appointment. Please coordinate through Brenda Ganot: brenda@jewish-art-and-gifts.com