Man has not yet subdued nature in reality or in the imagination.
Painting the forest and the landscape is a spiritual and material activity in harmony with birth, growth, death, re-birth, light, darkness, isolation and communion.
My work presents the spirit of the materiality of paint so that memories of places become expressions of feeling and meaning.
Deborah Gross-Zuchman, a Philadelphia painter, was an Art Demonstration Teacher and taught in the Philadelphia Public Schools for thirty-five years. She also worked as a Project Manager for the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program for several years. Gross-Zuchman paints en plein air and from her imagination. She explores the fine line between landscape and abstraction.
A book of her poems and paintings, Windows Into War (A Mother’s Lament), is published by Abingdon Square Publishers, NY
The Essential Seder, a Passover Haggadah, has an emphasis on social justice and freedom and is illustrated with her collages. It is published by Behrman House Publishing.
Becky’s Braids, written by Susan Weiss and illustrated by Gross-Zuchman is a story about a little girl with the messiest hair until her grandmother comes to visit and teaches her to make braided challah.
Effectations is about man’s isolation and search for meaning. Deborah’s paintings are alongside her son Will’s poetry and is available upon request.
1982
Goddard Graduate Program at Norwich University, Norwich, VT
M.A. Painting
1969
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
B.A. Liberal Arts
Senior Career Teacher, School District of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
1992 - 2004
Art Demonstration Teacher, William Penn High School, Philadelphia, PA
1974-1992
Art Teacher, Olney Elementary School, Philadelphia, PA
1973-1974
Art Teacher, Barrett Junior High School, Philadelphia, PA
1972-1973
Lincoln High School, Philadelphia, PA; Art Teacher,
1969-1971
Art Teacher, Harding Junior High School, Philadelphia, PA
Mentored Temple University Art Student Teachers
Implemented campus beautification program through students’ mosaic designs, murals, and creation of student art gallery
Coordinated student exhibition at Brandywine Art Gallery
Procured scholarships for students’ attendance in weekend and summer art programs throughout Philadelphia
Developed partnership with Architecture in Education program
Hosted visiting artist workshops
2020
Published The Essential Seder A Contemporary Haggadah, Behrman House Publishers
2007
Recipient of Puffin Foundation Grant
2000 & 2001
Illustrated Book Jackets for Jason Aronson Publishers
1997
Recipient of the Hunt Manufacturing Grant
1994
Recipient of the Arts Empowerment Grant
1999
25th Annual Juried Exhibition Award, Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission, Seventh Annual Juried Water Color Show Jurors’ Award, Camden County Cultural and Heritage Commission
1986
Philadelphia Water Color Club Prize, Annual Exhibition
1984
Woodmere Art Museum Flower Painting Prize, 44th Annual Juried Exhibition
Artist’s Equity, Philadelphia Chapter
Philadelphia Water Color Club; Signature Member
National Association of Women in the Arts
InLiquid
1999-2000
Visiting Artist Fellow, Brandywine Workshop, Philadelphia, PA
2024
24 Years of Women's Art, The Henry Gallery Penn State Great Valley, Malvern, PA
Presented by The Regional Center for Women
New Now VII, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Landscapes on the edge of Abstraction, Knife Paintings in Oil and Wax by Phillip and Deborah Zuchman, Studio 34, Philadelphia, PA
2023
Delaware Center for Horticulture, RCWA, Wilmington, DE
2022
Artists Equity Tri-State Member Show, Wallingford Community Art Center, Wallingford, PA
2018
Woodmere Annual, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Perelman Jewish Life Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2009
Creative Capital, Thomas Eakins House, Philadelphia, PA
2008, 2009
Art in a Box, Cheryl Pelavin Gallery, New York City, NY
2008
Kenneseth Israel and Temple Judea Museum, Philadelphia, PA
2003
Windows into War (Solo Show), Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
2000
New Work in Collage (Solo Show), Hopkins House Gallery, Hadden Township, NJ
2002
Three Views of Spain, Artjaz Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2002
Summer Landscapes, Conkling Hall Gallery, Rensellaerville, NY
2002
Toxic Landscapes, La Biblioteca National Jose Marti, Havana Cuba
2001
Works on Paper, Berman Museum, Collegeville, PA
2000
Temple Beth Sholom, Cherry Hill, NJ
1998
Appel Art Gallery, Cherry Hill, NJ
Art Teachers Exhibition, Nexus Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1997
Creation and Celebration, Sholom Gallery, Cherry Hill, NJ
Shelter, Brandeis-Bardin Institute, Brandeis, CA
1996
This Song’s for You, Bistro Bix, Philadelphia, PA
1987
Small Oil Painting Show, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
The Still Life in Art, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Invitational Show, Philadelphia, PA
1986
Contemporary Women Artists of Philadelphia, Wallingford Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
1986
University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA
Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals, Denver, CO & San Diego, CA
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Hillel Foundation, Chapel Hill, NC
Stroehmann Corporation, Philadelphia, PA
Temple Beth Sholom, Cherry Hill, NJ
Temple Beth Zion - Beth Israel, Philadelphia, PA
Temple Adath Israel of the Main Line, Merion, PA
New York Times Art Review, April 4, 1999; Fred Adelson on the Seventh Annual Juried Water Color Show at Hopkins Gallery, Haddonfield, NJ: "...Ms.Zuchman has successfully combined the still life arrangement of Cezanne, the decorative patterning of Matisse and the whimsy of Red Grooms.”
New York Times Art Review, September 27, 1998; Fred Adelson on “May You Be Inscribed...”; Appel Art Gallery, Cherry Hill, NJ
Philadelphia Inquirer, July 1, 1994; Susan Caba: “A Work in Progress”
The Weekly Press, March 25, 1993; Stephen Maleson: “Home is Where the Art Is”