Personal Biography
AMSTERDAM - BERLIN - JERUSALEM - NEW YORK
Shoshannah Jeanne Brombacher 1959 is an author, artist, scholar, and maggidah, spiritual storyteller from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She holds a Ph.D. from Leyden University Holland in medieval Hebrew poetry of the seventeenth century Sephardic Community of Amsterdam and has contributed to projects about Jewish manuscripts, books, and tombstone inscriptions. She taught, researched and studied in Leyden, Amsterdam the Ets Haim Library and Het Joods Historisch Museum, in Jerusalem, at the Free University of Berlin, and New York. Her worsening hearing loss forced her to leave the academic world and dedicate herself to art and writing. She organized courses for adults and children and currently lives in Berlin, where she dedicates her time to art, writing, lecturing, and telling Chassidic stories. She states “For me, family and art are inseparable parts of my Jewish life. My academic background brings deeper meaning to my art, understanding of life and devotion to HaShem.” The teachings of the Chassidic Masters fascinated her since she discovered them in her father’s study long ago. Her paintings are a tribute to the Chassidic way of life and service to HaShem, which spread light in a dark world and enrich our hearts and minds. Her themes include Jewish lore and legends, travels the Venice murals, social justice poetry of Nazim Hikmet Ran, OWS, classical music Beethoven series, poetry in many languages, and custom art for special occasions, like weddings, kaddish and barbat mitzvah.
Brombacher has participated in, curated and organized international art exhibitions and won several awards and grants for her work which is in museums, private collections and institutions in all five continents. She is the former president and current vice-president of the American Guild of Judaic Art and has an art-blog
httpsjewishart.orgblogblog-archives and contributes regularly to other magazines, blogs or calendars as well, like www.chabad.org.
Her website is www.absolutearts.comportfoliossshoshannah.
She published a book and articles on httpsabsolutearts.academia.eduBrombacher
Membership of art organizations
• American Guild of Judaic Art AGJA Vice President
• Jewish Art Salon, New York
• The Creative Soul
• Atara
• Jewish Women Artist’s Network
Brombacher coauthored and or illustrated books and articles the academic articles are not listed here.
- Chofne Zetim, handen vol olijven de poëzie van Selomoh d’ Oliveyra, rabbijn en leraar van de Portugese Natie in de 17e eeuw te Amsterdam J. A. Brombacher in Dutch
- Sefer Mikhtam Ledavid. Een Gulden Kleinood H. den Boer, J. Brombacher, P. Cohen, Liber Amicorum D. Goudsmit, librarian of the The Ets Haim - Livraria Montezinos Library, Amsterdam Dutch and English
- Meetings with Remarkable Souls E. Klein, illustr. S. Brombacher
- Letters of Light A. L. Raskin, illustr. S. Brombacher
- When the Shouting Began S. Sher, illustr. S. Brombacher
- The Light and Fire of the Baal Shem Tov Y. Buxbaum, cover S. Brombacher
- I See Only Light S. Brombacher, H. Hamburger
- Holy Eating R. Schwartz, S. Brombacher
- Serach Y. Buxbaum, illustr. S. Brombacher
- Theophanie C. Zaffora, illustr. S. Brombacher in Italian
- Under the Chuppah, A Jewish Couple’s Guide to Weddings and Meaningful Marriage B. D. Forman, S. Brombacher
- Painting the Dybbuk. Between Two Worlds. Ansky’s Play seen through an Artist’s Lens S. Brombacher
- The Little Rose on the Mountain S. Brombacher
- Smokescreen B. D. Forman, S. Brombacher
- The Golem in Brooklyn The Golem Exhibition at the Brooklyn Jewish Art gallery at CKI curator and catalogue S. Brombacher
- A New Oracle of Kabbalah Mystical Teachings of the Hebrew Letters For Insight, Perspective, and Guidance R. Seidman, S. Brombacher
- Le Confessioni di Abulafia C. Zaffora, S. Brombacher in Italian
- On One Foot. The Life of Hillel. D. Zaklikowsky, illustr. S. Brombacher
- Pictorial for The Story of My Life. Various Events and Episodes of an Orphan.By Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn Seen through the eyes of an artist. S. Brombacher
- Haggadah shel Pesach. The Passover Haggadah S. Brombacher
- Rebbe Nachmans Tales Stories for Personal Refinement B. D. Forman, S. J. Kaplan, S. Brombacher
- Bitachon Amsterdam, Liber Amicorum voor A.M. Dolf Aronson S. Brombacher, article and illusr. multiple authors Dutch and English
- Inspired. Rosh Hashanah Prayer Companion. Ch. Dalfin, S. Brombacher et al. ed. Ch. Witkes
- Shall We Dance S. Brombacher, B. D. Forman
- For Strangers passing Through S. Brombacher
- The Cat in the Cap and the Better World S. Brombacher
- Avraham Abulafia’s Seven Paths of the Torah on Sicily seen though the lens of an artist. An artistic synchresis of a 13th century kabbalistic text and its visual interpretation by a modern artist S. Brombacher
- The Loving Wind G. Goldman, illustr. S. Brombacher
- Sefer P’ri Etz Yitzhak Fruit of Yitzhak’s Tree S. Brombacher, B. D. Forman
Brombacher designed calendars, posters, book and CD cover art for synagogues, institutions, Jason Aronson Publishing, Y. Buxbaum, Ch. Dalfin, S. Raz, B. Wein, M. Warschauer, E. Okonsar, C. Zaffora and others. She created posters for museums, films, the Yiddish Rep Theater New York, Occupy Wall Street and others.
Statement Art makes the world within visible. My art is a tribute to music and to our heritage, especially the Chassidic world. The Kotzker Rebbe once listened to a story-teller in the street talking about the Baal Shem Tov and stated, “He told what he wanted and I heard what I needed.” That is art. Art connects people
Main Exhibitions not included are auctions, fundraisers, and minor shows 1980-now
Liberaal Joodse Gemeente, The Hague, The Netherlands solo
University of Leyden, The Netherlands
Rova haYehudit, Jerusalem solo
Podaytzer Synagogue, New York solo
Brownstone Gallery, New York
Tribeca 148 Gallery, New York
Silver Palette Gallery, Cedarhurst NJ
NeumannShaynberg Galleries, New York
Gallery 124, Springfield NJ
Cong. B’nai Avraham, New York several solo exhibitions
Cong. Mount Sinai, New York several solo exhibitions
Camille’s Clover Hill, New York group and solo
Grand Hotel Heerlen, The Netherlands solo
Kunsthuis Huebens, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Staten Island Community Center SI, New York
Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery BJAG in Park Slope, New York several group and solo
Union of American Hebrew Congregations UAHC in Manhattan, New York solo
Riverdale Temple, New York solo
Beth El Florida Art Festival
Tealounge, Brooklyn, New York solo
Palm Beach Center for Jewish Art, FL
Salon de Quartier, New York solo
KVB Financial District, New York solo
Terror Artists Respond, New York
Freyberger Gallery, Reading Pa
Sixth Street Community Synagogue, New York solo
Chulent Yiddish Theater, New York solo
Cong. Beth Torah, New York
Creative Soul in Crown Heights, New York several group exhibitions
Reznik Gallery, New York
Hebrew Institute Riverdale, New York
The Lower Eastside Jewish Conservancy, New York solo
Anne Frank Center, New York
Maayan Gallery, New York
Portiersloge, Groningen, The Netherlands solo
Belski Museum of Art, NJ
Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, OK
GalerieDeStoker, Amsterdam,TheNetherlands
Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery at CKI, New York group, solo, and curator of The Golem in Brooklyn at BJAG
NY City Lore, New York
Resistance, Yiddish New York, New York
Marcus JCC Atlanta, GA
Manny Cantor Center, New York
Plein van Siena, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
One Before Escape Gallery, Brooklyn, New York solo
Peninsula Jewish Community Center, Foster City, CA
Oranjekerk, Amsterdam,TheNetherlands.
Raawi, Germany
Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt, Germany
Walanka Exhibition 2023 and 2024, curator, Internet
Some of the Brombacher’s books are on Amazon or contact the artist