Monica Bohm-Duchen, author of the first comprehensive monograph on Polish-born, British-domiciled artist Josef Herman and Marc Chagall’s biographer Jackie Wullschlager join Eliane Strosberg who, in Human Expressionism, explores the work of Jewish artists and their avoidance of nihilism in a century that saw the vanishing of humanity. Chaired by art critic and writer Andrew Renton in the chair, they debate the fascinating issue of how Jewishness might express itself in modern art, irrespective of whether or not the artist deals with overtly Jewish subject-matter.
Monica Bohm-Duchen is an independent writer, lecturer & curator. Her many publications include Understanding Modern Art; Chagall, The Private Life of a Masterpiece and The Art and Life of Josef Herman: In Labour my Spirit Finds Itself will be published in March 2009.
Jackie Wullschlager is a literary critic and Chief Art Critic for the Financial Times. Her biography of Victorian and Edwardian children’s writers, Inventing Wonderland: The Lives and Fantasies of Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, J.M.Barrie, was published in 1996 while her ground-breaking biography of Hans Christian Andersen has won several prizes since its publication in 2000. Her biography of Chagall was extremely well received.
Dr Andrew Renton is Director of Curating at Goldsmiths, University of London. Recent exhibitions include: Front of House at Parasol Unit, London, 2008, and ArtTLV, the new biennial in Tel Aviv, 2008. Author of many catalogues and books, he was formerly columnist for the Evening Standard and was a member of the jury for the 2006 Turner Prize. He is adviser to many museums and institutions, including the British Government Art Collection.
