Renown Glass Artist Uses Israeli Tech to Make Over NY Synagogue

Digital textile printing firm translates famed glass artist’s drawings to beautiful fabrics that supplement his installation.

By Naama Barak, Israel21c

The Hampton Synagogue in Westhampton Beach, NY, recently got a techy makeover when renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly utilized the abilities of an Israeli digital textile printing firm in his work on the site.

Visitors to Jack’s House, a children’s community center connected to the synagogue, will now be able to admire Chihuly’s glass decorations, supplemented by the ark curtain, tablecloth and fabric decorations designed by Chihuly and Israel-based international designer Edward Jacobs and printed by Kornit Digital.

“We managed to bring in one of the greatest living artists of the United States and the world. We were able to get Dale Chihuly, the master, and he did this beautiful glass installation,” said Jacobs.

Alongside the glass installations are textile designs imagined by Chihuly and Jacobs, which had to be translated from paper to fabric.

“We needed to find a way to reproduce that art, which he did on paper, to produce that on fabric,” Jacobs explained. “When we were first exposed to the technology we were really just blown away.”

“The ability that Kornit has to really capture the vibrancy, the subtlety, of colors and of linear delineations on the fabric… you don’t see something like that,” he said.

“The machines performed on almost everything just flawlessly. Once we chose it, once we had the fabric, once we did the test, they produced everything within a week.”

Kornit Digital specializes in sustainable, on-demand manufacturing, which eliminates over-production and helps cut water waste and C02 emissions. Headquartered in Israel, it has six locations worldwide and over 900 employees.

Kornit Digital Business Development Manager Gil Shavit said, “Technology empowers all artists to bring their creative vision to life via textile, as it does in this moving project. We’re thrilled to play a part in this special, global activity with a distinguished artist like Dale Chihuly, thanks to Edward Jacobs, who brought these two worlds together.”