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. 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 it 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.

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 winter 2022.

Photos in order of appearance: Dafna Kaffeman (Israeli, b. 1972) — 1) Lantana, 2020 Crown of Creation series Flame-worked glass Photo credit: Doron Lenzter; 2) A brother in front, a snake in the back, 2008 Red Everlasting series Flame-worked glass and embroidery on cotton handkerchief Photo credit: Eric Tschernow; 3) Cotton plant burned alive, 2017 Cotton Plant series Flame-worked glass and printed text on felt Photo credit: Elad Sarig; 4) Map, 2008 Red Everlasting series Flame-worked glass and embroidery on cotton handkerchief Photo credit: Eric Tschernow; 5) 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