Yossi Rosenstein is a contemporary artist who has developed an original and innovative meaning to the notion of ‘Jewish Art’. Yossi was born in Jerusalem, a ninth generation descendant to an Israeli glorious dynasty. He chose to dedicate himself to art and developing a new doctrine of art which gave original and innovative meaning to the notion of ‘Jewish Art’. As opposed to the traditional Jewish art (Judaica) which is basically only a decoration of Jewish motifs and symbols, Yossi’s unique art concept is universal without limitations of religion and race; it conveys emotion and deep messages combined with Jewish and biblical visual themes. Yossi Rosenstein is an autodidact; he has never studied art at any institute. According to him, he continues learning all the time.

Thanks to his innovative perception and his amazing technical ability, he gathered much attention early on in his career as a Jewish artist. His first solo exhibition took place in Tel Aviv 1973. Following three solo exhibitions in Israel that were seen by many influential people such as Baroness de Rothschild, Henry Kissinger, the Israeli president and many others, Yossi received a request to exhibit his work in the prestigious Aberbach Fine Art Gallery on Madison Ave in New York. This art gallery represented him for many years. Yossi’s exhibitions in the USA “Moses” and “Exodus” was a tremendous success; all the paintings were sold at opening nights, the buyers were both Jewish and non-Jewish, all bible lovers. The exhibition was covered widely by the American media (ABC, Channel 5 and talk shows). Yossi exhibited as well at Cannes’s famous Galerie du Carlton, the art pieces were borrowed for display from European art collectors. His works are considered master pieces; they reside with honor in significant collections around the world together with other master pieces of prestigious contemporary and modern artists.

Yossi Rosenstein translates the bible into the art language. His works are rich with thought and imagination. His paintings which illustrate biblical events appear as a realistic style even though they are extremely symbolic, particularly the characters and the animals. In the same way the painting’s names which are verses from the bible. For this reason Yossi Rosenstein’s unique art style is conspicuous and easily identifiable even though each piece conveys a different message. Using classic technique, modern symbolism and Jewish philosophy he is giving a deep interpretation to the biblical concepts. The integration of past and present emphasizes the eternity of the bible and illustrates that each and every verse, commandment and event are still relevant to daily life. Yossi’s paintings require profound studying in order to understand the deep message concealed in the painting, which is the personal interpretation of the verses from his unique philosophical point of view.

Yossi Rosenstein gave a new dimension to Jewish Art based on innovative interpretation of the Jewish essence. This historic breakthrough ideology paved a way for many other new Jewish artists that followed in his footsteps to create their own Jewish symbolic art.