Each year, for at least the past 15 years, renowned local artist John E. Hirsch has shared his talents and prepared a beautiful and meaningful piece of Hanukkah artwork for the Great Neck Record. This year he shares his latest work, “Chanukah Glows With Flowers,” with the community.
Hirsch began his artistic training in the Art Department of the University of Georgia. He received a BFA from the Ringling College of Art and Design (1967), an MFA in Design from New York University Tisch School of the Arts (1976) and a Ph.D from the NYU Graduate School of Arts and Science (1988).
A longtime member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829 (the professional theatrical designers union) as a costume designer, Hirsch’s design have been sent in production from Soho to Broadway to Lincoln Center with all the stops between as well as in various regional theaters, ballet and opera companies throughout the country. He is noted for his theatrical designs in Who’s Who in Entertainment.
Hirsch’s art work has been shown in galleries throughout the country. He was the featured artists in a solo exhibition held in January 1999 at the Shelter Rock Public Library and, in 1998, in New York City at the UAHC Gallery at 838 Fifth Ave. and in Great Neck at Fleet Bank. His painting, “Utterly Charming,” was awarded an Honorable Mention at the Artist’s Network of Great Neck’s 1999-2000 exhibit at the Great Neck Library.
Hirsch has been represented in a number of juried group shows at the Woodstock Artists Association Gallery in Woodstock, New York, the Great Neck Library, The Jericho Library, the b.j. Spoke Gallery in Huntington, and the Vincent Louis Galleries in New York City. His work has also been exhibited in group shows annually at the Elsie K. Rudin Judaic Museum at Temple Beth-El of Great Neck.
Hirsch’s work has been exhibited in juried shows at Great Neck House and at the Mercer University Gallery in Macon, Georgia, the New York University Gallery, the Firehouse Gallery in Garden City, the Nassau County Museum of Art and in a curated exhibition at the Yeshiva University Museum in New York City.
Hirsch was commissioned by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations Committee in 1989 and in 1991 to design HIV/AIDS quilt panels. A copy of the first quilt, “Tikvah,” was used as an art poster which was distributed internationally. The second quilt was reproduced as an art greeting card. The original quilts themselves have been displayed throughout America as well as internationally, including museums in Israel.
Since 1997 Hirsch’s Chanukah paintings have been published in the Great Neck Record. Three of his works toured museums throughout the country in recent years.
Hirsch’s paintings are included in numerous private collections in both the United State and Europe. The artist lives and works in the Great Neck area.
