50 | JANUARY 11 • 2024 J
N

ARTS&LIFE
ART

F

aina Lerman and
Mitch Cope are two
of the 23 artists select-
ed for the new exhibition,
Beyond Typography, being
shown Jan. 14-Feb. 21 in the
Janice Charach Gallery in the
West Bloomfield J (Jewish
Community Center).
The artists were
known and picked
by curator Clinton
Snider, who takes
on art projects for
himself and teach-
es at the College
for Creative
Studies in Detroit. He asked
artists to depict landscapes with
deeper identities.
“Beyond Typography is an
exhibition of works that deal
with the American landscape
beyond the physical represen-
tation of our surroundings,
”
Snider said. “These paintings,
sculptures, photographs and
installations delve into several
themes including but not lim-
ited to nature, culture and the
individual.
“To understand our current
climate, it is essential to look
at how humans relate to our
world, imagine the future and

interpret the past.
”

FAINA LERMAN
Lerman is not sure which of
her realistic images will be
shown. Her working life moves
beyond her own paintings and
includes innovative perfor-
mance art and presentation
opportunities set up with her
husband, artist Graem Whyte.
The couple founded Popps
Packing, a mixed-use art space,
gallery, laboratory and artist
residency center. They have
hosted some 100 artists and
exhibited work of about 50
artists.

“I’m
a refugee
from Latvia so
I feel my relationship
with Judaism is different,
”
said Lerman, who does not
cover Judaica in her subjects
although she considers the
religion part of her culture and
who she is. She attends reli-
gious family celebrations with
her two children, who have
been enrolled in Tamarack
Camps.
Lerman, who lives in
Hamtramck, has moved into
realistic art from the abstract.

“I was just shy of 5 when
we immigrated to Oak Park in
1980,
” said Lerman, 48. “We
had a lot of support from the
Jewish Federation of Detroit. I
always drew and was interested
in exploring.
“It was encouraged by my
parents, and I grew up think-
ing the arts in general were
respected and important to
value. I took some classes at the
Birmingham Bloomfield Art
Center (BBAC) when I was lit-
tle. I traveled after high school
and went to the Center for
Creative Studies starting when
I was 24. I graduated in 2004.
”
In 2015-16, after her father
passed away, Lerman started
going through some old family
albums and did a lot of por-
traits of family. She considers
them memory reflections.
While Lerman expresses
that her family responsibilities
take priority, she notes that

New exhibit coming to the
Janice Charach Gallery.

Clinton
Snider

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

‘Beyond
Typography’

An oil on canvas by Faina Lerman

“Carp Lake Lily

Moon 1,” 2022, Colored Pencil

on Paper, by Mitch Cope