In a new exhibition at the Museum at Eldridge Street, New York City artist Steve Marcus takes viewers on a journey into the cartoon world of kosher folk art through a series of new artworks inspired by one of the many great Jewish contributions to American culture: the hot dog. Linking his quirky sense of humor with a passion for his own roots and culture, Marcus’s hand-drawn works on paper answer to a higher authority. Let’s be frank: Marcus has once again created art that viewers of all ages can relish. Steve Marcus: Top Dog of Kosher Pop Art opens at the Museum at Eldridge Street on Thursday, May 12 and runs through November 6, 2022.
“Steve’s drawings are crammed full of detail, wry observations and nuggets of history,” explains Nancy Johnson, Curator at the Museum at Eldridge Street. “His work tells a story with deep roots in Jewish life and immigrant culture – it’s the American dream on a bun!”
Steve Marcus lives and creates his artwork in his studio just a few blocks north of the Museum at Eldridge Street on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The neighborhood, once the stronghold of the Yiddish Theatre and other Jewish cultural and religious touchstones, is where he has primarily lived and worked, developing an international reputation over the last 30 years.
Steve Marcus: Top Dog of Kosher Pop Art includes a wooden sculpture, a site-specific installation, and selections from Marcus’s personal collection of New York City hot dog memorabilia. “Ketchup” with your memories, your love of art, and your links to the historic neighborhood through Marcus’s creations and visually nosh on one of America’s all-time favorite foods. Bon appétit! Be’te-avon!
Additional Programs ~
During the run of the exhibition, the Museum at Eldridge Street will offer a series of related public programs, family programs, walking tours, and gallery tours. There will be an exhibition opening reception on May 12, 2022 from 6PM-9PM. RSVP is required.
Steve Marcus: Top Dog of Kosher Pop Art and related programs are made possible, in part, by the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs in Partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that has been meticulously restored. Opened in 1887, the synagogue is the first great house of worship built in America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. Today, it is the only remaining marker of the great wave of Jewish migration to the Lower East Side that is open to a broad public who wish to visit Jewish New York.
Exhibits, tours, public programs and education tell the story of Jewish immigrant life, explore architecture and historic preservation, inspire reflection on cultural continuity, and foster collaboration and exchange between people of all faiths, heritages and interests.
Steve Marcus: Top Dog of Kosher Pop Art will be on view from May 12 to November 6, 2022 at Museum at Eldridge Street, 12 Eldridge Street, between Canal and Division Streets), NYC.
Spend an “Evening To Relish: Open House with Artist Steve Marcus” on Wednesday, July 20th from 6-8pm. The Event is Free with Registration.
Check out more from the artist on view around town at Blind Barber, New York City: Steve Marcus Cannabis Art from April 20 to July 9, 2022; YIVO Institute, NYC: Am Yisroel High: The Story of Jews and Cannabis on view from May 5 to December 1, 2022; and Hebrew Union College ~ Jewish Institute of Religion, NYC: Magical Thinking ~ Superstitions and Other Persistent Notions from May 24 to December 30, 2022.