Amster Gallery Exhibition with Joseph Bergman and Esther + Shai-Lee

The Amster Gallery is ringing in the New Year with two special exhibits. Artwork will be available for viewing starting January 14. The reception will take place on Thursday, February 5 from 6-7:30 PM. Enjoy light refreshments while exploring the work of two talented artists.

Esther and Shai-Lee are a mother-daughter art duo whose shared love for creativity spans generations. Their collaborative work, which will be featured in the Newman Lounge, celebrates imagination, emotion, and connection, capturing the beauty found in everyday life and the bonds that tie us together. 

Esther’s pieces reflect years of exploration in prints, acrylics, watercolors, and mixed media, while Shai-Lee brings a fresh, fearless perspective to each project. Together, they merge experience and curiosity to create vibrant works that speak to growth, love, and the power of creating side by side. 

This exhibit, It’s Just Life, is a reflection of their journey – a visual conversation between two artists learning from and inspiring each other, as well as their individuality brought from Israel and life in Michigan.

Also featured for the February 5 reception are the drawings and papercuts of Ann Arbor artist Joseph Bergman, whose work will be up in the Amster Gallery. Born in New York City and raised in the Bronx, Joseph was raised by Jewish parents who were new immigrants from Poland and kept a Yiddish-speaking household. He received a Folkshul Jewish education in his formative years, studying Jewish culture and history. Joseph also lived on a Kibbutz for 18 months while visiting his brother, which is also where he met his wife, Barbara. 

Joseph also had a richly artistic post-secondary education, receiving a BFA in Art Education from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an MFA in Art from Penn State. Joseph’s love of art turned into 35 years of teaching art and design at Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. During his time at Siena Heights, he notably started and developed the digital imaging and graphic design program, featuring 2D and 3D design, drawing, printmaking, and more.

“The drawings and papercuts in this show are done in a free, unplanned, spontaneous method without any external references or sources,” Joseph states. “They are not planned, have no messages, subjects, or external meanings attached to them. Identifiable images in these works are purely subconscious and coincidental. But like improvisational music and other spontaneous art forms, one needs to master the tools, formal understanding of colors, shapes, and working methods.”

The work of both Esther and Shai-Lee and Joseph will be for sale here at the JCC. We hope to see you at the reception on Thursday, February 5!