G*d: for some He is the origin of all being, for others a grand illusion. God brings people together and also divides them. But who or what is God anyway? The exhibition G*d. Reflections between heaven and earth approaches the phenomenon in seven questions that often have more than just a religious answer.

Starting from Jewish perceptions of God from biblical times to our individualized, western present, the exhibition shows a wide range of positions – artistic examinations as well as outstanding religious objects. Contemporary art with its personal approaches, and historical ritual objects that are an expression of a collective religious relationship, communicate in a dialogue that, besides religious tradition, also addresses abstract topics. The field of tension between religion and science, the question of divine providence, and the free will of humans open a further dimension in the exhibition.

Visitors are invited to rediscover God through an interplay of aesthetics and sensuality: human projections and existential hopes become tangible, visible, and audible. So, is there a God? Or a Goddess? The Shoah, religious criticism, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence question and challenge the traditional image of God.

The exhibition G*d. Reflections between heaven and earth will accompany the 130th anniversary of the Jewish Museum Vienna in 2025. Opened in 1895, it is the world’s first Jewish museum. Exceptional objects from the outstanding collection of the first Jewish museum, as well as loans from important national and international collections, are on public display for the first time.

Curators: Domagoj Akrap. Daniela Schmid