21st Century Greenberg Artists

From Morris’s Yiddishkeit to Gerry’s mastery of the human form, we now take a look at a few of the 21st Century Greenberg artists. Nina Hopen Klein, Morris’s granddaughter brings a whole different approach to her paintings. Morris was her mentor. They would go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and discuss the masterpieces. After attending college at Penn State University, Nina started a greeting card company. She got married, moved to Florida and started a family. Once she became a mom she didn’t have much time for her business/ creative outlet, the greeting cards company.

It wasn’t until 2016 when Nina had moved back to Philadelphia that she began to paint with encouragement from Stephen Klein, her husband. She took classes at the Fleisher Art Memorial and soon was painting at the studio 5 days a week. She had art openings in various venues and was able to sell some of her paintings.

In February of 2017, Nina was diagnosed with bile duct cancer. Her largest and most successful opening was November 2017, at Griesing Law Offices. The exhibit was called Searching for Solace and proceeds from the show went to fund research of bile duct cancer. She exhibited 36 paintings and sold most of them. Nina’s work used color to show moods, emotions, or ideas.

The piece that spoke to me most at the show still speaks to me today and sits above my desk. It’s called Tandem. It’s bold and stark on a 60” x 36” canvas. The name resonated with me as much as the painting itself. The idea of two people going to one place and sharing the voyage is meaningful to me.

Like all good art ( which is subjective), I really connected with it. I look at Tandem daily. Right below the painting sits a photo of Nina, Anthony ( my son in law), and Rose Edith ( my cousin) at Oyster House. It reminds me how fragile life is. Nina's life has created a sense of urgency to share our family story.

Nina Klein, Anthony Padilla, Rose-Edith Morgan

Nina died the following September in 2018. She fought her battle in public through her blog, Fuck Cancer. Her honesty, humor, determination, and positive spirit were an inspiration. We miss her terribly.

And, the artist gene lives on in Cara, Nina’s daughter, who is named after Celia, her great grandmother and Morris’s wife. Cara lives in Philly, luckily left the restaurant industry pre covid and is now an artist full time. I’ll let her tell her story in her own words:

David: When did you discover that you had a talent for visual art?

Cara: When I scribbled all over the tile floor in preschool with crayons. I’ve had a love for art since the day I could hold a pencil. I can’t quite remember the day I discovered I had the art gene, but I do remember drawing or doodling every single day as a kid.

D: Did you have any training at school?

C: I took only a few art classes when I was younger, but was not classically trained in school.

D: Was Nina an influence in your development?

C: My mom was a huge influence in my development. I would always send her photos of my paintings for her guidance. She also inspired me to pursue art as my full time “job” and to do what I love.

D: Why did you decide to change careers?

C: I knew it was time to change careers when there was not as much creative freedom in my job. When I can’t express my creativity and apply art to my everyday life, I feel unfulfilled.

D: What are your aspirations?

C: I hope to one day have a full art show exhibit in a gallery. I would also like to eventually paint something on a very large scale.

D: What are the paintings named?

C: I don’t actually name them all. Unless they’re in a show.

D: What's the medium?

C: Acrylic on canvas. The black and white one is micron pen and sharpie on paper.

D: Where else can people follow your art?

C: @cara_bet and my new art Instagram is @caracaraart. Contact available on Instagram as well. Website in progress! Will be done by hopefully January. In the meantime you can email Cara.betensky@gmail.com if you want to see more work and or purchase a painting. ( from Debbie hint hint- if you're not done your holiday shopping check out Cara’s work its sooo good )

And the art gene lives on in Matthew Hopen. Matthew is Nina’s nephew. Her brother Richard’s son. Which also makes him Cara’s cousin. He’s enrolled in the School of Art at Pratt Institute in New York.

Looking forward to seeing what he creates.

Are there any art projects you are currently working on? Let us know in the comments below.

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