Featured Artists

Volume One

The world of Jewish learning has traditionally been dominated by the elite male practice of text study. Gashmius understands itself it be in the lineage of those who are attempting to expand our conceptions of "Jewish knowledge" to include non-textual sources. Taking our cue from Jericho Vincent's piece, we think of our featured art not as mere adornment to written content, but as genuine neo-Hasidic content in and of itself.

Lya Finston

Lya Finston is an artist and printmaker currently based in Iowa City, where she is pursuing her MFA in Printmaking at the University of Iowa.

Lya has formerly served as a Printmaking TA and Shop Technician for Bucknell University, a Studio Fellow at Spudnik Press, a publishing assistant at Hoofprint, and an Access Services Assistant at the Ryerson & Burnham Library of the Art Institute of Chicago. She also has experience projecting DCPs and 35mm film at the Campus Theatre in Lewisburg, PA.

Lya graduated from Oberlin College in 2018 with a BA in Studio Art and German Language. She was originally born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Cranford, NJ.

See more of her work here

Judith Joseph

Judith Joseph is a Chicago based artist whose work is exhibited internationally. Her work is idea-driven, and she works across media: woodblock prints, painting and installation. Her conceptual art practice is paired with work as a calligrapher and illustrator, and her specialty is the Ketubah. Recent and upcoming exhibitions include ARC Gallery, Chicago; the Springfield, Illinois Art Association; the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C. and the Dr. Bernard Heller Museum at Hebrew Union College, New York, NY.

Her work is in many public and private collections, including the University of Illinois, the Chicago Public Library, the Milwaukee Public Museum, Hillel-Milwaukee and numerous synagogues. Numerous solo and two-person exhibitions include the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Kraft Center at Columbia University, ARC Gallery, Chicago and the Illinois Arts Council Gallery in Chicago. Residencies and fellowships include the University of Illinois Presidential Initiative in the Arts and Humanities Residency Program (2022), the Amen Institute Fellowship (2021), the Spertus Institute Fellowship (2015) and Illinois Arts Council Fellowship Awards in 1998 and 2004.

Judith Joseph is on the faculty of the Chicago Botanic Garden, where she teaches watercolor painting and drawing.

See more of her work here

Eva Sturm-Gross

Eva Sturm-Gross (she/her) is a Jewish artist from Vermont. She has recently been experiencing imminence and living/working in Chicago, IL. Her work in printmaking and sculpture explores intradivine relationships. She holds a bachelors degree in studio art and religion and currently works in historical wood restoration.

See more of her work here