Eight Days of Creation

Eight Days of Creation of Kenneth Treister will be permanently exhibited at the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies (5202 University Dr.) , University of Miami

Kenneth Treister’s “Eight Days of Creation,” will be permanently exhibited at the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies (5202 University Dr.) , University of Miami. The collection will have its premier exhibition open to the public, on Wednesday, December 9th at 7:30 p.m. The “Creation Collection” will provide insight into the very essence of the story of Creation particularly in a cultural and spiritual sense – one that all can understand and appreciate.

Mr. Treister’s “The Eight Days of Creation” was painted for the Miller Center and contains eight, original oil paintings telling the Hebrew Bible story of the Creation. The Miller Center will host a special Robert Russell Memorial Foundation lecture by the artist and by Rabbi Edwin Goldberg of Temple Judea.

This wonderful series of paintings is based on the biblical concept that God created the world in seven days and on the eighth day created the Garden of Eden and turned his creation over to man. The paintings have a touch of humor – unusual in the contemporary field of art. Throughout all of the paintings God is pictured as the Creator and artist portrayed as a simple man wearing a suit, tie and hat. Popular imagery of Eden, fruit trees, birds, Heaven and man in God’s image, are all accounted for in the well-rendered art sequence. Nevertheless, God always seems to be working on something larger than himself – all while making it a priority to paint a wondrous landscape for mankind.

In essence, as the artwork’s catalog states, “The paintings in this exhibition are created not to make you laugh, but rather to smile.” Treister’s masterpiece of “The Eight Days of Creation” is an important collection of oil paintings with a provoking message from the Jewish religion and their culture.

Mr. Kenneth Treister is a renowned architect, sculptor, painter, photographer, author, and lecturer. His sculpture for the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach, a major influence in this community, is visited everyday by school children who are brought there by their teachers.