Gallery Opening at Temple Habonim

Temple Habonim opens Barrington’s first art gallery on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 9.

Paintings, prints and photographs from four artists who are temple members were being hung on the walls Friday afternoon. A reception from 1 to 3 pm will open the gallery on Sunday.

“You can meet the artists,” said Roberta Segal, who is coordinating the opening for the temple’s art gallery committee.

The gallery is in a meeting room on the first floor that faces New Meadow Road. The room will continue to serve as a meeting place with art work gracing its walls.

“The first show is all temple members,” said Barnet Fain, a member of the committee and one of the artists who will display his printmaking in the gallery’s opening show.

The other artists are photographer Bonnie Jaffe, a Rhode Island School of Design graduate who has received a variety of awards; Lenny Rumpler, an award-winning self-taught photographer who helped set up the Imago gallery in Warren, and Marc Jaffe, an obstetrician/gynecologist who has won many awards for his photography.

All four of the artists have shown their work publicly. It is because of the level of talent and creativity in the temple that the idea for the art gallery was raised, said Fain.

“We want the gallery to build a community within the temple and a community within Barrington as well,” said Fain, who took up printmaking with his late wife after he retired from business.

“This provides an opportunity and encourages people within the community to display their creativity,” he said.

Segal, a glassmaker herself, said each show will run for two months to start.

“It will be mostly wall art,” she said, not sculpture or other floor pieces.

 Shows could be group shows, like the one opening Sunday, or individual shows.

The works of art will be available for sale, said Fain, with a percentage going back to the temple. But the art gallery is not a fundraiser for the temple.

“It’s a community service,” he said.

Eventually, Fain said, the gallery will probably seek out artists from outside the temple to display their work. The art gallery committee will judge the applicants and make selections to find the highest quality art work possible within Barrington.

If you have questions, said Segal, send an email to gallery@templehabonim.org. The mailbox is checked regularly.

Hours for the gallery will match the hours that Temple Habonim is open, usually 9 to 4 daily, and during other events on weekends, said Denise Dimare, temple administrator. You can call the temple at 245-6536 for viewing hours.