Lenore is a visual artist who creates work informed by her Syrian Jewish heritage. Currently based in NYC, She's worked as an artist and producer since earning a BA in art from Brooklyn College in 2009. 

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An internationally exhibited and collected artist, Lenore’s work has been presented in solo and group shows in the US, Italy, Amsterdam, Canada and Israel. She and her work have been published in books, scholarly jourals, newspapers and featured in radio and television interviews.

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Her series Worry Flowers is currently on view at the Museo Ebraico of Lecce, Italy. In 2021, she created and produced the group show Maktoub, bringing together Hebrew and Arabic calligraphers from the UAE and Israel to exhibit in Jerusalem. Upcoming shows include a solo show of Arabic Calligraphy works with the 2023 Jerusalem Biennale and a site specific installation of conceptual work at the Museo Ebraico.

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Lenore’s work is primarily based in Arabic calligraphy. For each new work, other mediums that best express the underlying concept are also used. This often includes embroidery, paper cut, and working with light on transparent materials.

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Her art is heavily influenced by her heritage and upbringing as a Syrian Jew. Her generation, children of immigrants, are the inheritors of a 2,000 year old Middle Eastern culture which was only recently migrated to a Western country. This history itself is a deep wellspring of inspiration from which to draw, but beyond simply representing it, her art is concerned with examining this confluence of cultures. There’s an inherent dichotomy to an East-meets-West upbringing which encourages constant re-evaluation of cultural perceptions and relationships. The unique worldview of this community is a springboard from which to look at universal issues through her work.

 

Recent series have focused on contemporary society’s attitudes towards women, mental health, consumerism, and what place one’s heritage can or should have in their everyday life. Lenore is also interested in making work about forced migration, assimilation and its effect on the generations that come after. Many people like this are not very aware of their own history and what they lose in a rush to leave it behind. Her art expresses appreciation of her roots, ensuring that the cultural overlap she represents doesn’t disappear.

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See artworks as they’re being created on instagram @LenoreCohen.