I start each work by writing directly on the paper or canvas. I write until words lose their meaning. I get to a point where only making marks with paint seems to make sense. I clear the way, inside myself, to where logic, reason and language no longer reign. The process of layer upon layer, expresses a search. It becomes a process in which I, literally, live through the painting emotionally. I have no preconceived concept; no intellectual armor; no image in mind when I start to work. One mark follows another and the paintings become layers of experience. The work becomes a place to hold the mysteries of memory; loss; love; beauty and fantasy matched by a sense of wonder and awe.
My parents survived Auschwitz. I was one of the first children born in the DP camp at Bergen-Belsen. As a result, I feel that the existential questions of life are ever present. Upon moving to Jerusalem five years ago, the search to understand these questions has taken on a new depth and breadth. The Jerusalem light and beauty are like no other. The search for light, beauty and meaning drives each painting. Each painting becomes a promise of “something more”.
Living and painting in Jerusalem fulfills my dream of expressing the survival of beauty.
Born: 1947, Bergen-Belsen, Germany
Resides: Jerusalem, Israel, Washington, DC
Education:
| 1965-74 | California State University, Los Angeles, CA |
| 1971 | Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, CA |
| 1977 | BFA. George Washington University, Washington, DC |
| 1977-78 | Post-Graduate work at American University, Washington, DC |
Glass Education:
| 2005 | Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, WA. Studied with Therman Statom. |
| 2005 | Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY |
| 2005 | Glass Studio - Kari Minnick. Silver Spring, MD |
| 2013 | "Not Neutral" (Works on Paper and Silvia Levenson's Glass) | Lorch & Seidel Galerie, Berlin, Germany |
| 2013 | NOT NEUTRAL | Kreeger Museum, Washington, DC |
| 2011-2012 | Visiting Artist Exhibition (Paintings and Glass) | Gensler Architects, Washington, DC |
| 2010 | Paintings and Glass: "AFTER: The Survival of Beauty" | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2009 | "Full Circle" | Lorch & Seidel Galerie, Berlin, Germany (Sponsored by the United States Embassy, Berlin, Germany) |
| 2008 | "Of Roses and Rasa" | Prada Gallery, Washington, DC |
| 2006 | Glass Exhibition: "Words on a Journey" | Katzen Art Center, American University, Washington, DC |
| 2004 | "All That is Remembered" | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2004 | "Twenty Five Years of Painting" | Strand on Volta Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 2003 | "Nine Anniversaries in Blue" | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2002 | "Translations" | Troyer Gallery, Washington DC |
| 2002 | "Tikkun Ha'Olam: Meditations in Blue" | Yale University, New Haven, CT |
| 2002 | "Beauty as Consolation" | Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT |
| 2001 | "Ella the Muse" | Lydon Fine arts, Chicago, Illinois |
| 1999-2000 | Mindy Weisel 1979-1999 | Lydon Fine Arts, Chicago, Illinois |
| 1999 | "In The Presence Of Absence" | Troyer Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1997 | "A Place For Memory" | Troyer Fitzpatrick Lassman, Washington D.C. |
| 1995 | "Lili, Let's Dance" | Troyer Fitzpatrick Lassman, Washington D.C. |
| 1993 | "Touching Quiet" | Jones Troyer Fitzpatrick, Washington D.C. |
| 1992 | "A Harmony Of Sorts" | Jones Troyer Fitzpatrick, Washington D.C. |
| 1990 | "Night Of The Soul" | Daniel Broder Gallery, New York |
| 1989 | "Echoes" | Jones Troyer Fitzpatrick, Washington D.C. |
| 1986 | Selected Paintings | Baumgartner Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1985 | "Passions And Appearances" | Bertha Urdang Gallery, New York |
| 1985 | "Gypsy" | Baumgartner Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1985 | "Layers Of Time" | Elise Meyer, New York |
| 1984 | "Black Gifts" | Baumgartner Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1983 | "Transitions" Paintings from 1979-1983 | B'nai Brith Museum, Washington D.C. |
| 1982 | "Lili In Blue" | Jack Rasmussen Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1981 | "Recent Paintings" | Jack Rasmussen Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1980 | "Paintings Of The Holocaust" | Jack Rasmussen Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1977 | "Works On Paper" | Diane Brown Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 2013 | Cologne Paper Art Fair | Cologne, Germany |
| 2012 | Art in Embassies Program | American Embassy, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| 2011 | SOFO Chicago | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, Ilinois |
| 2011 | CROSSOVER: A Material Exchange (Presenter) | Bullseye Glass Gallery, Portland, Oregon |
| 2010 | ART Chicago | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, Ilinois |
| 2010 | Paintings and Glass | Lorch & Seidel Galerie, Berlin, Germany |
| 2009 | NATO Exhibition | Brussels, sponsored by U.S. Art in Embassies Program |
| 2009 | Paintings and Glass | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, Ilinois |
| 2009 | Art Chicago | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, Ilinois |
| 2007 | Alumni Painting Exhibition | Katzen Art Center, American University, Washington, DC |
| 2005 | Pilchuck Glass School curated by Therman Statom | Stanwood, Washington |
| 2005 | SOFA Arts (glass exhibition) | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2005 | Cover to Cover | Maryland Federation of the Arts, Annapolis, Maryland |
| 2003 | SOFA Chicago (Paintings) | Jean Albano Gallery, Chicago, Illinois |
| 1999 | Corcoran Hemicycle Exhibition | Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. |
| 1998 | "Seven Artists" | Robert Steele Gallery, New York |
| 1998 | "Celebrating Women in Space" NASA | National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington D.C. |
| 1998 | "American Prints" | Addison Ripley Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1996-1999 | Art Train "Art in Celebration" | Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service |
| 1996-1998 | "Witness & Legacy" | National Traveling Exhibition (with book by Dr. Stephen Feinstein) |
| 1995 | "Gifts to Israel Museum" | Marian Goodman Gallery, New York |
| 1995 | "Burnt Whole" | Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts |
| 1994 | "Burnt Whole" | Washington Project for the Arts, Washington D.C. |
| 1994 | Hemicycle Exhibition | Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. |
| 1992 | "Tactility" | American University, Washington D.C. |
| 1991 | "Lou Stovall: Heroes, Teachers, Friends" | Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. |
| 1989 | "Continuing Witness" | B'nai Brith Klutznick Museum, Washington D.C. |
| 1988 | "The Artist's Mother" | National Portrait Gallery, Washington D.C. (catalogue) |
| 1988 | "Dennis O'Neil & Friends" | Gallery K., Washington D.C. |
| 1987 | "Works on Paper" | Jane Haslem Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1985 | "Works on Paper" Curated by Donald Kuspit and Cynthia McCabe | Rutgers University, New Jersey |
| 1985 | "The American Artist -- Immigrant Experience, 1930-1985" | Organized in cooperation with the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, Philadelphia (catalogue) |
| 1985 | "Self Portraits" | Jane Haslem Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1985 | "Spiritualism In Art" | Cornell University, Ithaca, New York |
| 1984 | "Washington Watercolors" | Corcoran Art Institute, Washington D.C. (catalogue with reproduction) |
| 1984 | "Women In Expressionism" | A.I.R. Gallery, New York |
| 1982 | "Jewish Themes/Contemporary American Artists" | Jewish Museum, New York (catalogue with reproduction) |
| 1982 | "Eight From Washington" | Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, Illinois (catalogue with reproduction) |
| 1981 | "Five Year Anniversary Exhibition" | Gallery l0, Washington D.C. (catalogue with reproduction) |
| 1981 | "Watercolors" | Jack Rasmussen Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 1979 | "Voices Of The Past" Paintings | Goldman Fine Arts Gallery, Rockville, Maryland |
| 1978 | "Works On Paper" | Gallery l0, Washington D.C. |
| 1979 | "Works On Paper" | Gallery l0, Washington D.C. |
| 1976 | "Works On Paper" | Diane Brown Gallery, Washington D.C. |
| 2011 | Gensler Architects | Washington, DC |
| 2011 | Herman Miller, Inc | Rockville, MD |
| 2009 | Perseus Realty | Washington, DC |
| 2009 | Redlands Project | Rockville, Maryland |
| 2003 | Weisel, Mindy | The 7 Day Color Diet New Guide to Health and Beauty | Capital Books |
| 2001 | Weisel, Mindy | Daughters of Absence: Transforming a Legacy of Loss | Capital Books |
| 2000 | Weisel, Mindy | Touching Quiet: Reflections in Solitude | Capital Books |
| 1982 | Rand, Harry; Weisel, Mindy | The Beginning of Things | Dryad Press |
| 1980 | Weisel, Mindy | The Rainbow Diet | Simon and Schuster |
| 2000 | Popov, Nikola; McHugh, Heather | Paul Celan: Glottal Stop, 101 Poems | Wesleyan University Press |
| 2000 | Jacobstein, Roy | Blue Numbers, Red Life | The North Carolina Writers Network |
| 1995 | Levi, Primo | The Reawakening | Simon and Schuster |
| 1995 | Levi, Primo | The Survival of Auschwitz | Simon and Schuster |
| United States Embassy | Berlin, Germany |
| Hirshhorn Museum | Washington D.C. |
| Smithsonian Institution | Washington D.C. |
| National Museum of American Art | Washington D.C. |
| Baltimore Museum of Art | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jewish Theological Seminary | New York, New York |
| The Israel Museum | Jerusalem, Israel |
| Stedman Art Gallery, Rutgers University | Camden, New Jersey |
| Watkins Art Gallery, American University | Washington D.C. |
| Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial Museum | Jerusalem, Israel |
| Hill & Knowlton | Washington D.C. |
| House of Representatives | Washington D.C. |
| UCLA Medical Center | Los Angeles, California |
| Goulston & Storrs | Washington D.C. |
| Arnold & Porter | Washington D.C. |
| Coopers & Lybrand | Washington D.C. |
| The Washington Post Company | Washington D.C. |
| Kirkpatrick & Lockhart | Washington D.C. |
| Arent Fox | Washington D.C. |
| Akin Gump | Washington D.C. |
| Oliver T. Carr Company | Washington D.C. |
| Federal National Home Mortgage Corporation | Washington D.C. |
| ATT Corporate Offices | Virginia |
| Charles E. Smith Corporate Offices | Virginia |
| Lerner Corporation | Rockville, Maryland |
| Artery Corporation | Bethesda, Maryland |
| Group Health Insurance | Main Office, Washington D.C. |
| Shaw Pittman | Washington D.C. |
| Mishkenot Sha'ananim | Jerusalem, Israel |
| New York University Health Center | New York, New York |
| American Dental Association | Washington D.C. |
| Washington Convention Center | Washington D.C. |
| Perseus Realty | Rockville, Maryland |
| 2012 | Gottesman Etching Center, Kibbutz Cabri, Israel |
| 2009 | Gottesman Etching Center, Kibbutz Cabri, Israel |
| 2008 | Public Arts Commission: Glass Sculptures, Perseus Realty, Redlands Corporate Center, Rockville, Maryland |
| 2008 | Painting Fellowship to Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia |
| 2005 | Pilchuck Glass School, Stanwood, Washington |
| 2004 | Painting Fellowship to Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia |
| 2001-present | Smithsonian: Archives of American Artists |
| 1997-1998 | NASA Art Program Commission to do paintings for "Celebrating Women in Space" |
| 1995-present | Art in Embassies Program, State Department,Washington D.C.; works placed in American Embassies in Belgium, Israel and Egypt |
| 1999-present | Member, Women’s Forum of Washington Washington D.C |
| 1996-1998 | Board of Directors, Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts, Washington D.C. |
| 1993 | Fellowship to Mishkenot Sha'ananim, Jerusalem, Israel |
| 1992 | Fellowship to Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar, Virginia |
| 1991 | Serigraph "Flowers for a Country" commissioned by the Smithsonian for their Resident Associates Program |
| 1988 | Artist-in-Residence, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel |
| 1988 | Painting commissioned by International Human Rights Law Group |
| 1987 | Amnesty International Poster Commission |
| 1987 | Washington Area Lawyers For The Arts Commission - Original Limited Edition Silkscreen |
| 2010 | Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Award in the Visual Arts, Virginia Center for Creative Arts |
| 2008 | Nominated for the Kreeger Museum Artist Award |
| 1987 | Nominated for Award in The Visual Arts |
| 1986 | The Rutgers National Works on Paper Award, Stedman Art Gallery |
| BECon 2011 Glass Conference | Portland, OR |
| United States Embassy | Berlin |
| Various German Universities and Art Organizations | Munich, Hamburg, Kiel, and Berlin |
| Dachau Concentration Camp Educational Center | Germany |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT |
| American Embassy | Cairo, Egypt |
| Corcoran Gallery of Art | Washington D.C. |
| National Portrait Gallery | Washington D.C. |
| Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibitions Service | Washington D.C. |
| The Jewish Museum | New York, NY |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Washington D.C. |
| American University | Washington D.C. |
| Lehigh University | Pennsylvania |
| American Jewish Congress | Washington D.C. |
| Haifa University | Israel |
| Corcoran School of Art | Washington D.C. |
| B'nai Brith Klutznick Museum | Washington D.C. |
| Troyer Fitzpatrick Lassman Gallery | Washington D.C. |
| Rockville Arts Place | Rockville, Maryland |
| District of Columbia Jewish Community Center | Washington D.C. |
| The Kreeger Museum | Washington D.C. |
| Florida Holocaust Museum | St Petersburg, Florida |
| The Jewish Museum | New York, New York |
| United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Washington D.C. |
| Strand on Volta Gallery | Washington D.C. |
| 1997 | CNN Impact (national and international). A 14-minute segment aired April 27, 1997. |