Nov. 19: Art and Scroll Studio presents “Worlds of the Impossible” by artist Michael Bogdanow

by Shelley Werner

(AJNews) – On November 19, 2025 at 7:00 pm SDT, Art and Scroll Studio, a live zoom series, will present the magic of Michael Bogdanow whose art portrays his vision of a world as he wishes it could be. His work crafts impossible scenarios that he envisions as reality, putting a marvelous spin on the works of creation. He will provide a tour through his want-to-be world that features the detail of possibilities.

“My themes are centered on humans and our relationships with each other, the earth and the universe. Music, dance, and the sky are also sources of inspiration for my art, as are Judaic themes. All of these integrate and overlap with each other – they are not distinct categories.”

Many of the artworks have a dream-like, fantasy aspect, using art to convey the impossible, or at least the improbable, like actors flying from the stage to the sky or people holding globes larger than themselves. For decades, he used painting to convey this type of imagery, because he found it difficult to convey the impossible in sculpture, as it is governed by laws of physics and gravity. Around 2021, he returned to sculpture and has come up with ways to capture the dreamlike quality that he has been painting since the 1980s. He now has been building sculptures from semi-precious stone chips, wood, paintings, motors, and more.

Michael Bogdanow is an internationally recognized artist, attorney, author, and musician. His vibrant and colorful paintings and sculptures, which can be seen at www.MichaelBogdanow.com, are contemporary in style, universal in appeal, and often inspired by Judaic texts. His art is included in institutional and private collections and reproduced in and on the covers of numerous books, including Zohar: Book of Enlightenment, Wandering Stars – An Anthology of Jewish Fantasy and Fiction, Speaking Torah, The Book of Sacred Jewish Practices, Religion in der Grundschule, and many others. His painting “Exodus” is the cover of Peri Smilow’s recording, The Freedom Music Project, and his “And The Women Danced” is the cover of Sue Horowitz’s album, The Power and the Blessing. He was the featured artist for the Women of Reform Judaism’s 5771 Art Calendar.

After a 40-year hiatus, he has returned to his roots as a sculptor, which was his primary artistic training at Brandeis University in the early 1970s.

“Over the years, my art headed toward painting, which gave me a way to create dreamlike imagery – actors and actresses flying, people holding globes larger than themselves, myself juggling all the planets of the universe, and the like. I struggled to visually cross the line from possible to impossible in sculpture, as it is governed by laws of physics and gravity. How could I make a dancer do a pirouette on one toe on a balance beam without falling off, or a fiddler walk across a rope between two buildings while playing the fiddle?”

And then in around 2021, he decided to return to his roots in sculpture and made using his bead collection. He soon realized that stone chips would be better than beads. This technique gave more control over the image. He began to add wood, motors, paintings, and more.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is … to do nothing.” Edmund Burke

According to Michael, “living in the United States during the most autocratic, extremist government in its history presents myriad challenges and choices. Many are more important than what kind of painting to paint, sculpture to sculpt, book to write, or film to make. Some of the decisions impact life, death, health, freedom, and more.” While the arts generally don’t raise “life or death” decisions, they do matter. To paraphrase what author, journalist, and filmmaker Steven Beschloss recently wrote: art enriches the world, transports us somewhere new, expands our imaginations, and helps us see life with new eyes.”

In the early 1970s, Bogdanow studied with Peter Grippe at Brandeis University where he received his undergraduate degree in studio art. He then received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Sculpture from Columbia University’s School of the Arts. After two years as a high school art teacher, he attended Harvard Law School and received a law degree in 1984. Since the 1980s, he has maintained careers in art and law, written books on law, art, and Judaism, and regularly performed music in both Jewish and secular venues and settings. He and his wife live in the Greater Boston area.

Michael’s work presents his response to the world around him, both politically and spiritually. To journey through his portfolio is to gain an understanding of an authentic life that reflects his vision of how things are and how they ought to be.

Michael Bogdanow, “Worlds of the Impossible” will be the featured presentation on Wednesday November 19, 2025, 7:00 pm MST on Art and Scroll Studio, a live zoom series that celebrates the makers and creators of Judaic art. To register for free tickets https://bit.ly/MichaelBogdanowTickets

Shelley Werner is the host of Art and Scroll Studio zoom series that celebrates the makers and creators of Judaica Art.