Waltuch Gallery
The Waltuch Art Gallery infuses Jewish art and/or works by Jewish artists into our shared cultural experiences. The exhibits are designed to ignite imagination and encourage people to connect the visual arts with philosophical and spiritual concepts through a creative Jewish lens.
The Waltuch Gallery exhibits rotate monthly, and feature the work of painters, photographers, digital artists and other creative designers.
Exhibits are free and open to the community, and most work is typically for sale. A portion of the proceeds support programming efforts at the JCC.
Outdoor gallery exhibits are displayed throughout the Kaplen JCC Campus and indoor gallery exhibits are on the second floor of the main JCC building.
40 Year Retrospective
Artwork by Samuel Marc Kaplan
Samuel Kaplan’s goal as a fine artist is to create figurative landscapes that illicit the inner emotions of personal experience through the context of symbolic imagery. His storytelling and painterly style are deeply rooted in the traditions of American Realism-inspired by masters such as Edward Hopper, Winslow Homer, and George Bellows-fused with the atmospheric light of French Impressionism and the haunting moods of Surrealism.
Working primarily in classic oil on canvas, Kaplan paints using a glowing palette of bright, luminous colors to establish an ethereal effect. His imagery embraces the transitory nature of the 20th-century American industrial age. By juxtaposing rusting relics of the past-such as a decaying Studebaker, an old roadside air pump, or an abandoned LIRR train-with the vibrant rebirth of spring flowers or heavy coastal fog, he establishes an allegorical dialogue with the viewer. Their compositions act as visual metaphors for the passage of time, capturing quiet moments of impermanence that highlight the fading of the American Experience.
Samuel graduated from The High School of Art & Design in New York City and received a BFA from Parsons School of Design; where he became an instructor. Later studying painting at the Art Students League with Peter Homitzky (Richard Diebenkorn contemporary). Who along with Knox Martin (the New York School) stressed the study of the Masters. His ability to combine Landscapes with Iconic Imagery speak well of his work earning him a reputation as a visionary painter whose work reflects the transience of the AmericanLandscape.
Samuel’s art career spans over Four Decades, most recently exhibiting his paintings at the Edward Hopper Museum and Guild Hall Museum. With Solo Exhibitions at Sundance Gallery (Bridgehampton), Americano Gallery (Tribeca), Art Basil (Miami), X Gallery (Harlem) and Bethany Arts Gallery (Ossining). His artwork can be seen at www.samuelkaplanart.com.
SHOWING: Oct 5-Oct 30
ARTIST RECEPTION: Oct 15, 5:00pm