Innholdsfortegnelse for Contemporary Israeli Art i Contemporary Israeli Art

Amnon David Ar, Born in Herzelia, Israel in 1973, to a non-artistic family. However, Ar´s creative talent was recognized at a very young age and he started his formal art education at the age of 14. After military service in the IDF was cut short by a flare-up of Alopecia, Ar studied at the prestigious Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem. As he could not find the kind of artistic training, he was after at that time, he left the Bezalel Academy at the end of the first year and began searching for his own style and artistic language. While he is considered to be mostly self-taught, Ar sought advice from the established painters Oswald Adler and Abraham Bykov. He first gained international acclaim when his work was praised by…

Mahmood Kaiss (Born in 1985, Nahaf, Israel) Lives and works in Haifa, Israel. Mahmood Kaiss received his MFA in Fine Art from University of Haifa. Despite his young age, Kaiss’ installations are already held in three Museums shows: Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Herzliya Museum of Art and The Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem. Kaiss is considered to be one of the most promising Palestinian artists active in the Israeli art scene. The arabesque - an ornamentation style, stunningly intertwining vegetal or geometric designs—is at the center of Mahmood Kaiss’ practice, which retains some traditional arabesque characteristics, while making far-reaching modifications with others. Using transformation, abstraction and hybridization, Kaiss examines the severing of a from, its familiar image and its translocation into a different stylistic, material, spatial and theoretical…

Boris Leifer was born in Ukraine in 1946. In 1969-1975 he studied at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, an institution linked to traditional European painting. Subsequently, he worked as a set designer for the Russian theater. His images indeed surrender a distinct theatrical quality: the flowers, the fruit, the still life and the women. Usually set against a dark background, these images radiate with light in a manner reminiscent of the still-life renditions of the 17th-century Italian artist, Michelangelo de Caravaggio (1571–1610). He graduated from the Repin State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, Russia) in 1975. He is a member of the Union of Artists of Russia and of the Israel Union of Artists. Leifer participated in regional, district, republican, all-Union exhibitions (USSR),…

Tova Eldad, a multi-disciplinary artist and graduate of the Kalisher school of art (1986), is creating in Kiryat Hamelacha in Tel-Aviv. She has exhibited single exhibitions in “Gross” Gallery in Tel Aviv, “Noga” Gallery in Herzeliya, in the house of the artists in Hedera and more. She has also taken part in several group exhibitions at renowned institutions such as the Ramat Gan Museum and the gallery of contemporary art (Kalisher) in Tel Aviv. The series of “Imagelets” submerge psychological processes with processes in the space of time and culture which were frozen in layers that are not necessarily chronological, giving rise to a feeling that they hold within them primordial/magical forces. “In my works there is an ongoing dialogue between wild nature and the human nature, between its inner…

Dyani, (Annie BENDAYAN) A painter and art teacher born in 1955, she moved with her family to France in 1960, then immigrating to Israel in 1975 to study scientific studies at the Hebrew University, where she also graduated in architecture. She paints stunning paintings. Her unique paintings are bold, vibrant and dramatic. She has been greatly inspired by beautiful designs. Compelling compositions and beautiful light are incorporated into each painting or breathtaking still life. Her work has been exhibited worldwide, including Jerusalem, Paris, London and New York. ” Painting is communication, and the viewer has to understand what is being communicated”, says DYANI, explaining her philosophy of art.” It should reflect God’s beauty and creation”. Nourished by philosophy of simple daily scenes, and driven by a desire to improve, DYANI…

“My work is based mainly on interpreting photographs, trying to portray them through my own eyes, using mostly oil paints. My creative process starts right at the stage of capturing or choosing the photograph, looking for something that will thrill, excite and evoke in me the deepest desire to express it in the painting. I work on each painting for several months, so the image I choose must be of great appeal to me. While working, I try to let my heart and soul lead the way - I try to restrain the mind and sense from commanding the process. When I paint, I find myself constantly occupied with feelings and contemplations about the images that I am painting. Upon completion, I try to discover what ignited the desire in…

Israeli landscape painter graduated with B.Arch. from the School of Architecture at Tel Aviv University. Exhibits from the year 2015 in Israel and abroad, including the Hudson Gallery in New York, La Galleria Pall Mall, London, the Okashi Art Museum in Acre Israel, the Art Market and other exhibitions in Israel. His paintings depict the diverse landscapes of the Land of Israel in the Jezreel Valley and the North, using oil techniques on large-scale canvases, along with water colour and charcoal paintings that depict the natural expanses of the region, including Nahalal, Kfar Yehoshua, and Haifa. His work is defined as “patriotic art” that portrays the beautiful and good land of Israel. A connection to the roots of Israel and the subject of nature is not coincidental, as the patterns…

“Engaging with art for me, is like looking into my microcosm self and beyond. While painting, I set myself free from the grasp of everyday perception of reality. To my deep feeling, the world surrounding us flows through a human prism, pours into a deep and vast pool of our subconsciousness, emotions and souls and giving us its humanly unique interpretation. In the interface zone between the two worlds – the raw world of ‘things themselves’ as the artist feels with his senses and the known interpreted world, in an alchemy-magical-synergistic process, art happens. In recent years I integrate gold paint and gold leaves in my works. To me, It detaches the subject matter from the realistic context and elevates it to a metaphoric level. I want to grant a…

“I am a self taught Belgian/Israeli photographer traveling around the world with my Nikon and Fuji. My purpose is to express my emotions through my lens. My Father, a man who had great knowledge and love of art, instilled in me the awareness to understand, and the possibility to develop a sharp eye for photography and paintings. Photography has been my passion for many years, but today it is much more than a hobby, it is my way of life. The mix of cultures-my country of origin: Belgium, and my country of residence: Israel, has enabled me to develop a keen and unique perspective. I love shooting portraits, street photography and urban abstracts. I am drawn in by the different structures, materials and textures of objects, as well as the…

“I’m Roie Engel, born and raised in Israel. The past several years, and the years to come, have a great deal of effect on my perceptions and the prism I see the world through. I’m married, live in a community town and have three wonderful kids. During the past 11 years I work in software companies, and in my free time I seek to develop skills and enjoyment in different fields. During the last two and a half years I’ve been interested in photography as a way to express my artistic ideas and my creative thinking. From the moment I remember myself I was always into art and practicing it in painting and drawing. I always loved photography but never, up until now, took some serious steps towards fulfilling my…

“I am a contemporary abstract painter using brushes and palette knife. I create colorful abstract collages which vary according to my feelings. I have formulated a visual artistic language that expresses my experiences over the years. Each painting expressed a daily journey, a journey of transition between different emotions, reflecting the transitions and changes in my personal life. My abstract painting is based on the most basic elements: color, line, texture and composition. The colors and how to place them on the canvas are my way of expressing the journey, like literature or music. The first layer is the base layer on which the organization shapes and colors build and slowly crystallize into the creation. I do not select a theme or a composition in advance, rather I work building…

Aram Gershuni. Born 1967 Lives and works in Tel-Aviv. Aram Gershuni is self-taught, but he also studied privately with Israel Hershberg, and at the Jerusalem Studio School (1997). Aram Gershuni has had three celebrated one many show exhibitions, the first of which took place at the Alon Segev Gallery in 2003. The second show opened at the Tel-Aviv Museum of Art in 2009 and was highly acclaimed, while his third show took place in Zemack Gallery in 2013, again receiving plaudits from fans and critics alike. He has also participated in many group shows in galleries and museums throughout the world, including the Tel-Aviv Museum of Fine Art, the Israel Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London. Works by Aram Gershuni are included in many public and private collections…

What distinguishes ‘tree’ from ‘wood’? The tree grows, changes, yields, responds to the seasons and its life cycle. Wood, in contrast, is a man-made raw material created after the tree’s death or intentional felling. And so, a tree is life and wood is death, one is nature and the other is man, one is the wild and the other is culture. Wood is the basic raw material in the works of Orit Hofshi and Mahmood Kaiss, as it is also in the current installation by the two artists. The juxtaposition of the two artworks created by the two artists brings to mind additional dualities such as art/craft, painting/installation, figuration/abstraction, expressive/geometric, secular/religious, destruction/construction, finite/infinite; and if we turn to the artists themselves, we can also add to these: woman/man, senior artist/emerging…

Matan Ben Cnaan (b. 1980) is an Israeli painter whose work combines classical elements and biblical narratives with contemporary art and present-day themes. Ben Cnaan is the first and only Israeli artist to receive 1st place in the most prestigious award for realistic painters: The BP Portrait Award (2015) by the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. Ben Cnaan’s winning painting Annabelle and Guy narrates the tragic and harrowing tale of Jephthah and his daughter. His scenic painting exposes viewers to complex moral dilemmas, interpersonal relationships, and human behavior. Adopting classical elements to develop his figurative paintings, Ben Cnaan creates a pictorial language with a vocabulary that allows him to express these complex issues on canvas. The basic sentence structure of this language consists of gestures and positioning as shapes…

A modern abstract, mixed media artist, living and creating in Israel. Known for original large-size abstract oil paintings and mixed media contemporary artwork, Lupu’s paintings entwine music with color and draw inspiration from nature, human feelings, senses, beliefs, femininity, hidden tensions, and endless hope. A graduate of the Academy of Music, Tel Aviv and the Avni Institute of Art and Design, Tel Aviv, Zahava Lupu’s paintings are found in many private and public collections and galleries worldwide. More about the artist can be found in The New York Public Library, The Israel Museum information center, Tel-Aviv Museum information center, Tel-Aviv University - faculty of the arts, and art related literature. “Zahava Lupu’s compositions call for an inner journey into the deep layers. Lupu does not disclose everything and her creativity…

“I have always loved the graphic and graphic design of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, which is very descriptive, colorful and happy. When I was a kid in Jerusalem, there was no computer, internet, or even black and white television - everything was modest. My mother and grandmother, Eden, were excellent cooks, and much of the time in our home was spent in the kitchen. As a child, I dreamed of worlds that were made up of a few toys, cubes, and an abundance of food boxes (conserve). Manufacturers such as “ZD”, “Lieber”, “Rebel”, “Asis” enchanted me, as did cinema posters that were hand painted and featured wonderful calligraphy. There is something in the artistic stance of the practical artwork of the time, something that gives creative space in combination…

“Member of IMPACT-the professional Artist Association, Israel. Lives and works in Tel-Aviv. Exhibited in ISRAEL and oversea. The works of Michal Shelly are not focused on any specific lifetime, but are expressive of a general philosophy of life, an individual totality that she displays in its entirety on the canvas, in each painting anew. Every work endows experiences accumulated over numerous years with a plastic expression. They do not seek to reconstruct reality, but rather to stimulate in the viewer an emotional experience, language of abstraction and process of creation, broadcast emotional and mental restraint whereas the lines and spots that whirl on the canvases conversely evokes intense emotional storms. Tension between her and the painting as a search space. This type of searching causes the viewers of her works…

“Mally Elbaz Almandin Almandin is a purple gem, which has been an inspiration to my creativity and worldview. For me, it symbolizes a natural, basic foundation that reflects both the fieldstones that I played with as a child and the milestones in our lives. My work consists of tiny stones, atom like, particles that crystallize into molecules, into cells from which the whole process of creation is born. The choice of materials, technique, images and composition are born from the laborious work of marking the circles of stones. It is a slow, repetitive, ceremonial marking that conjures up complex childhood memories. I was born in Israel, in the city of Afula, to parents who immigrated from Yemen. My grandfather and father were sewing and embroidery craftsmen in Sanaa, Yemen. My…

Michal Rotman’s works of art are full of colors, multifaceted and combine different styles. In her present exhibition, Rotman translates her emotions, experience and subconscious towards the canvas surface. It does not only cover the surface with pigment or the basic need for direct experimental element, but it also expresses intellectual excess which is so prevalent in visual culture; it is a counter reaction to the overexposure to technology and the visual flood of screen-images which offer no more than a sterile, synthetic experience. In each painting there is a figurative point of view. The Israeli landscapes are used as models in her work. We also find mental and remembrance landscapes which project mindsets on the canvas and unify the images grouped in the paintings. “In her exhibition, Michal Rotman…

“Painting is a poetry, prayer, longing, joy bursting, cry and a search… Painting is my existential need, to express myself in color, shape and texture, in which the words are not enough… A universal language, moving emotions with meaning, affecting each person differently. My creative process is a journey unknown and not yet designed. Sources of inspiration include music with many colors, sights, and local landscapes forged in my mind, the emotional world and small moments of grace and excitement”. Orly Shalem, an autodidact artist was a graphic designer for over 20 years, graduate with honors the “Hadassah College” and the studies as an art instructor at “Beit Berl College”. Draws more than a decade, mostly abstract, in a variety of tools and techniques. Her paintings are emotional and colorful,…

“I see my art as a journey in service to society. I would like to emphasize the value of all aspects of creativity and encourage the fulfillment of our, wider potential in this life. “Karen Naim, Born in Israel in 1972. I graduated the ‘Midrasha School of Art and Education’, Israel, in 2003 with excellence. My inspiration to create is generated by a need to express and create a bridge between my inner and outer world through the use of materials, the need for simple enjoyment, research, playing and connecting between materials, media, ideas and people. In 2014 I made the major decision to leave the “rat race” for a while and find space and time to dedicate only to my art. With this goal in mind, I flew to…

“I find Street photography very challenging, With the need to be in full awareness, yet still need the patience, waiting for the right moment to click. What draws me always, are the human moments, the connection, empathy and sympathy. It’s moments like this that give me hope. In this series, I focused on the hands. Hands express emotions in a very strong way. Almost can say “The hands are a window to the soul”. My work has been published in many International magazines and websites Including: The International Lens Magazine, WePhoto Street WePhoto Reportage, 1x.com, Silver, Black and White-photogs.com. EXHIBITIONS & COMPETITIONS 2015 WSP, Hamburg, Germany 2016 My Cuba - Solo Exhibition, Chicago, Illinois 2016 Local Testimony World Press Exhibition 2017 Px3 France competition - Gold / Book Cover 2017…

We help create, grow and enhance wonderful collections of art with young and new collectors. We specialize in decorative arts produced up to the beginning of the 19th century. Old master paintings, sculptures, decorations, furniture, miniatures, historical documents and many other decorative objects are our area of focus. We utilize scholarly research, multiple sources, historical relevance and above all, the beauty that these objects brings for collectors. The collecting and research journey is about the love and appreciation of beautiful pieces and their craftsmanship that is so fulfilling. In addition to collection consultation, at meb3 we write about art from the perspective of someone humbled by excellence expressed through art. After all, we are here to enjoy the thrill of history through art, to contribute a small amount to this…

Adi Nes (born 1966, Kiryat Gat, Israel), is one of Israel’s most celebrated photographers. A graduate of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem (1992), his work has been presented in solo and group exhibitions in Israel and throughout the world, achieving the highest recognition and success. Nes boasts a varied body of work, including five main series to date: Soldiers (1994-2000), Boys (2000), Prisoners (2003), Biblical Stories (2004-2007) and The Village (2007-2012). A photographer of great renowned, Nes has won many prestigious awards, including Anglo-Israeli Photographic award (1993), the Education, Culture & Sport Minister’s Prize for Artists in the Visual Arts (1999), the Gottesdiener Foundation Israeli Art Prize, Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2000), and the Constantiner Prize for Photography (2003), Culture Minister’s Prize for Artists in the…

Orit Hofshi (born in 1959, Kibbutz Matzuva, Israel) Lives and works in Herzliya, Israel. Hofshi received her MA in Arts from Leeds University, UK following her studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where she majored in painting and printmaking (1986-1990) and her studies at The NB Haifa School of Design (1980-1985). Orit’s practice has for many years focused on printmaking, works on paper, installations, and woodcutting as her primary mediator. Concerned with the past/present political realities, Orit imagery projects the perception of oneself in relation to natural and man-made topographies and investigates broader personal and social narratives. She has exhibited widely in Israel, Europe and the United States including The Tel Aviv Art Museum, Israel; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Danubiana Meulensteen Art Museum, Bratislava, Slovakia; Shulamit…

“My art is my way of life, my identity, my native tongue. I am a painter and photographer born and raised in Israel. I exhibit extensively and work with academic, public, and private institutions. I was always intrigued by material art emerging on different surfaces and textures, changing and deteriorating, and eventually dying and disappearing. Naturally, graffiti became a subject of my interest and I started to document them around the world twenty years ago. In 2011 my photographs of the graffiti on the Israeli-Palestinian separation barrier, taken as a part of an international project, were published as a book, ‘Facing the Wall’ (Walther König, Köln). For over two and a half decades, I worked with the most advanced digital cameras. Then, several years ago, I discovered alternative photography. I…

Joshua Griffit is a unique voice in the Israeli Art Scene. Since graduating from the Art Academy in Florence Griffit presents a fascinating journey through his art, from etchings to realistic paintings, combining abstract textures with realistic images. Griffit’s works have been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world such as Art Basel, the International Biennial of Graphic Art in Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Austria and Norway, as well as solo exhibitions in Israel such as the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Tefen Open Museum, Herzelia Museum, and the Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art. “I am a collector of images from any source possible: history of art, advertisements, movies, childhood memories, nostalgia, etc. My paintings are created as a collage, expropriating natural environment and connecting the image to something…

“I create collages that create themselves and, in the process, create me anew. From the fields of Philosophy and Cultural Studies I arrived at art, starting with Art Journaling – working in various creative techniques in a book/journal format. Of the various techniques available, I found myself returning, again and again, to creating collages, as private works, not meant for public viewing. Starting with a single central image, the compositions continued to grow. Images and symbols manifested themselves: figures of people and animals – imagined creatures that conflated man and nature, the familiar and the “Other”. The resulting collages were surreal, like daydreams. I never plan my collages ahead of time. That would be impossible. My work is wholly intuitive. Often, I feel like I’ve hit a dead end. Sometimes…

Most of Yitzhak Nir’s life was spent as a pilot in the sky. In his younger days, he was a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force. Then, he became a captain for the commercial El Al airline. As a painting student of Marcel Yanku, Ernest Fucs, Wolfgang Manner, Ben Tritt and others, he was influenced from the European “Old-schools”, “Impressionism” and the 20th century painting movements in the U.S. Both forces shaped his style: His perspective was deeply influenced from his 30,000 flying hours, while the colors and compositions form the “old” and “new” painting movements. In his recent piece, “Atlantic Dawn”, clouds and vapor trail of a jet plane, all seem centered into the rising sun, differing the darkly night from the upcoming dazzling day. “When Your Enemy…

Lika Ramati, Visual artist, fine art photographer and designer. Ramati is the founder and the decorator of the legendary downtown’s Yaffa Café and Simone Martini Bar in New York and appearing in the list of 100 top Israeli’s influential entrepreneurs in the USA. In Gold List of emerging artists by the International Art market Magazine and an international book of the most influential Woman of the World. Her Artistic language has no limits, from street art to interior design, to international art exhibits. Lika exhibiting her art in shows and galleries around the world in private collections and appearing in numerous international magazines and art books. “In art as in life, by processes of composition and decomposition, harmony and disharmony, yin and yang, beautiful and ugly are discarded and displayed…

“Milka Green was born in 1967 in Eilat, the southernmost city in Israel on the Red Sea. She grew up in landscapes of turquoise sea. At the age of 22, Milka Green moved to Tel Aviv to study at the Avni Art Institute, and then at the Vital School of Art and the Kibbutz Artists Workshop. Green always remembers herself painting, and in recent years the urge to create made her convert her home into a studio and make art the center of her life. In a short period Milka Green’s work attracted the attention of the Israeli art world and collectors. In the last few years her work appeared in various group exhibitions. Articles about her work appeared in HDL MAGAZINE Israel, and in “Itsuv - magazine for planning…

“Painting, for me, is a powerful tool of expression and dialogue. The ideas for my paintings are inspirations that I get from cities, like the uniqueness of construction sites, as well as from the bible, death, desires, sole searching dreams and from the chaos of uncertainty. After the paintings are ready, I dye them in layers of Oil paints and add to them more shades, depending on my feelings at the moment, and try to be as accurate as I can in every detail. I like to create, in my paintings, a sense of roughness which pours and reflects the obvious self on my painting canvas. I draw using the technique of oil on canvas in a variety of styles, varying from being impressionistic, realistic or surrealistic, depending on the…

Vered Arie was born in Holon, she began drawing and painting from a young age. Israeli landscape and nature painter. Participated in exhibitions for over a decade including: Group exhibitions in Tel Aviv performing Art Center, W Tower in Tel Aviv, Solo exhibition in Beit Silver, Ramat Gan and recently in a well-known online exhibition at the Israeli Art Market online gallery. Nowadays she lives with her family in Mazkeret Batya, a small town located in central Israel. The rural surroundings, orchards and rolling hills are an inspiration to her colorful optimistic painting which correspond to her cheerful personality. Vered Arie loves the nature, a perfect morning for her is a walk with her dog around the vineyard, just five minutes’ walk from her house. Hiking is a vital part…