art

Rose Hacker and her father, Abraham Goldbloom, in Berlin, 1929

Imagining the past

For more than 10 years, writer and historian Moira Roth has used published texts, plays and performances to create a narrative about a fictional Czech Jew, Rachel Marker. A new multimedia installation at the Magnes will add another layer to Roth’s project, “Through the Eyes of Rachel Marker.” The exhibition will include materials about two real women, both Jewish, who have influenced Roth: English activist Rose Hacker (pictured), who at age 100 began to write op-eds for a London newspaper, and Alice Herz-Sommer, a London-based pianist who was imprisoned with her son in the Theresienstadt concentration camp.

6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22 at the Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, 2121 Allston Way, Berkeley. Exhibit through June 28. http://www.magnes.org

sunday/13

Photo hunt and party. Photography contests in conjunction with “Radical Camera” (see Ongoing), followed by a party. At Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St., S.F. Contest at 1 p.m., party at 3 p.m. Free for photo hunt participants (museum admission waived); $12 general. http://www.thecjm.org.

“Balancing Act.” Work by Bay Area sculptor Ilana Davis, who transforms recycled materials into bronze sculptures. At Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. Opening reception at 5 p.m. Exhibit through April 5. Free. http://www.paloaltojcc.org.

ongoing

“The Art of Prophetic Justice.” Works of San Francisco artist Bernard Zakheim. “Wide-Angle Lens.” Jewish photographers in the 1940s and1950s. Through Feb. 3. At Jewish Community Library, 1835 Ellis St., S.F. http://www.bjesf.org/adults_events.htm.

“California Dreaming.” Multimedia exhibit exploring Jewish life in the Bay Area from Gold Rush to present. Through April 28. “The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats.” Exhibit of art by the author-illustrator. Through Feb. 24. “The Radical Camera.” Photography exhibit on New York’s historic Photo League. Through Jan. 21. At Contemporary Jewish Museum, 736 Mission St., S.F. http://www.thecjm.org.

“Imaging Religions.” Visual and textual expressions of religious beliefs. Includes Jewish scrolls, Orthodox coins, Catholic paintings and more. Through Jan. 31. At Graduate Theological Union, 2400 Ridge Road, Berkeley. Free. http://www.gtu.edu.

“A Retrospective: Then and Now.” Ceramic Judaica by Susan Duhan Felix. Through Jan. 27. At Jewish Heritage Museum at Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living, 4000 Camino Tassajara, Danville. (925) 648-2800.

“Traces of Memory.” Exhibit pieces together new ways of understanding Poland’s Jewish heritage. Through February. At Osher Marin JCC, 200 N. San Pedro Road, San Rafael. Free. http://www.marinjcc.org.

“A War on Modern Art: The 75th Anniversary of the Degenerate Art Exhibition.” Selections from exhibit by the Nazis in 1937 that aimed to turn public opinion against modern art. Through Feb. 24. At Cantor Arts Center, Palm Drive at Museum Way, Stanford University. http://www.museum.stanford.edu.