Arts&Life exhibit 30 | APRIL 23 • 2020 J onathan Santlofer estab- lished a successful career as a painter before two trage- dies impacted his professional instincts. After the death of his wife (food writer Joy Santlofer) and a fire that destroyed 10 years of work, he began writing projects and altered his artistry. Santlofer revealed his experi- ences and Jewish outlook in The Widower’ s Notebook: A Memoir (Penguin Books, 2018) and moved into fiction with detec- tive novels. Leaving behind the abstract, he experimented with merging realistic images through printmaking. Santlofer’ s 13-color screen- print “Beyond the Forest” and pieces by two other well-re- garded Jewish artists, Sidney Hurwitz and Hugh Kepets, are among the works of 35 artists from around the country in the exhibit Glimpse: Fine Print Selections from Stewart & Stewart 1980-2020. The exhibit is on view through June 4 (by appoint- ment because of social dis- tancing) at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center. It also is available through an online cat- alog at stewartstewart.com. The exhibit honors the 40th anniversary of husband-and- wife team Norman and Susan Stewart, who print, publish and collaborate with artists in their Bloomfield Hills studio-resi- dence. Santlofer is one of many printmakers who have stayed at the Stewart facility to trans- fer matrix images and color to other surfaces. “They were open to letting me do what I wanted to do in what is a collaborative art, ” said the New York-based Santlofer. In “Beyond the Forest, ” Santlofer started with his own handprints, drew on top of them and developed a land- scape. “I had been visiting the cave paintings in France, and the handprint, which you see so often in Paleolithic art … was in my mind, ” he said. Santlofer’ s works have been in more than 200 exhibitions worldwide and are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Art Institute of Chicago and others. Norman Stewart, a master printer, helps artists create imagery using traditional and digital fine art printing tech- niques. Susan Stewart, a graphic designer, is instrumental in placing the original editions in worldwide museums, galleries, corporations and residences. “In choosing the pieces for the BBAC exhibit, I wanted a range of artists and techniques, ” Norman Stewart said. Artist Sidney Hurwitz, who focuses on industrial sites, is represented in the show by “Gas Works, ” an etching/aquatint Jewish artists highlighted in BBAC exhibit of Stewart & Stewart artists. SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER Print Patrons THE BBAC HAS LAUNCHED its first at-home Art Challenge, encouraging people to make art at home. The first challenge is inspired by artist Andy Goldsworthy, a sculptor, photographer and environmentalist. Participants are challenged to go on an adventure through their own backyard and observe the natural elements that exist right outside their door, using collected objects to create their own land sculpture. At-home artists can send images of their work to Info@ BBArtCenter.org with “Art Challenge” in the subject line and include their name and age. More challenges are coming soon. The BBAC will post select photos on its website and social media. Sidney Hurwitz, “Gas Works,” etching/aquatint, ed: 100 (Fine Art Print Commission for the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint) COURTESY OF BBAC