In the spring of 2026, La MaMa Galleria & The Invisible Dog co-presented JEWESS, a solo exhibition of Danielle Durchslag’s character / costume work.
Curated by Lucien Zayan, this ambitious exhibition included large-scale photographs of me posing as my original characters, videos of my live performances, and life-sized, custom mannequins wearing my custom headpieces and costumes, all on view at the beautiful La MaMa Galleria, in Noho, Manhattan.
March 13 – April 12, 2026
La Mama Galleria
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
47 Great Jones St, New York, NY 10012
Exhibition Images
All exhibition images photographed by Stephen Morrison
PRESS RELEASE
Visual artist Danielle Durchslag designs costumes, inspired by both fashion and Jewish ritual, that she wears to portray female characters of her invention with distinct, oppositional approaches to contemporary Jewish identity and politics. Each of the three personas is tethered to a specific Jewish holiday and set of political values.
The exhibition includes large-scale photographs of Durchslag posing as each character, videos of her performing as these personas, and life-sized, fully costumed mannequins of all three figures, physically positioned to reflect their personalities and dynamics with one another. Collectively, the female trinity presented here forms a portrait of some of the most meaningful divisions and tensions present, amongst and between Ashkenazi Jews, in post-World War II life, from a place of joy and play.
For Sabbath Queen, Durchslag employs Queen Elizabeth I of England’s aesthetics to depict Judaism’s most famous female monarch – the invisible, holy entity whose weekly Sabbath visits every Friday begin the holiday. In Durchslag’s interpretation, this figure embodies conservative Jewish political power, right-wing Zionism, and empire. She’s a haughty, superior, judgmental, lethally confident sovereign.
In contrast, Pesach Punk references the gorgeously aggressive visuals and sounds of the early London punk movement to portray the Angel of Death from the Passover holiday – a divine figure associated with murder and loss. This rebellious, passionately anti-Zionist woman asserts radical progressive dissent and pushback against widely accepted, politically conservative tribal norms. She is angry, righteous, and pained by her outsider status.
Finally, Taylor Bonnet re-envisions a 1960’s headpiece worn by glamorous film star, and Jewish convert, Elizabeth Taylor, as a visual celebration of Passover. This character contends with notions of assimilation and “passing” in privileged Ashkenazi circles. She balances her strong sense of Jewishness with a desire to copy, and hide within, elevated WASP aesthetics. A doyenne of the highest order, she is fun, glamorous, “non-political,” and purposefully oblivious to the fraught elements present in her set of identities.
Opening Reception Images
All Opening Reception Images Photographed by Argenis Apolinario
Below are some images from two events that took place in the gallery, the first one honoring Pesach Punk:
Photos from Theophobia’s live punk concert. They SHREDDED.
And the second one honoring Taylor Bonnet. Famed comic Negin Farsad moderated a discussion in the gallery between me and Isaac Mizrahi on the topic of Jewish Glamour, to a packed, enthusiastic audience:
We shared stories, we agreed, we disagreed, we sang the praises of Barbra Streisand (obviously), and we laughed our heads off.