A home of their own

13 contemporary Israeli artists to show their works in Tel Aviv at a free exhibition promoting local artists here and abroad.

By INBAL AHARONI
Artwork 311 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Artwork 311
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
If you’re interested in Israeli art, visit the Amalia Arbel Gallery, currently hosting a free exhibition showcasing the works of 13 contemporary Israel-based artists. ‘Art in the Namal’ opened August 6, and includes the work of photographers, painters and sculptors with various artistic approaches and with no unifying theme.
“Every artist gets his wall,” says Babylone El-Baze, curator of the show.
“There is no required subject, so the artists have freedom and their own specific styles.”
The show is part of a series of exhibitions organized by El-Baze under the auspices of Babylone Art, an organization she founded for the purpose of promoting Israeli artists, both at home and abroad. Other than shows in Israel, the organization has taken exhibitions to Canada, France, Belgium and Switzerland, and published several books, showing the work of member artists. As she does not have a regular gallery, El-Baze refers to her exhibitions as traveling “nomad galleries.” The Amalia Arbel Gallery was selected because of its location in an area with high tourist traffic.
Jerusalem Post photographer Marc Israel Sellem is one of the artists featured in the exhibition. He says he appreciates the opportunity to be involved in the group effort, because as an individual, it would be much more difficult to get his pictures shown.
“You can have good artists, but they cannot show their work because it is very expensive,” says Sellem.
Thus, the artists active in Babylone Art pool their resources to rent gallery space and promote their own exhibitions. Ultimately, the goal is, of course, to sell their works.
Artists participating in the show include: Aljandro Fefer, Ami Carmi, Beatrice Ben Maor, Marc Israel Sellem, Denis Chetboune, Dvori Silverberg, Einat Maor, Larisa Kuperstein, Madeleine Testyler, Mezan Yeroham, Rodica Rabinovici, Sigal Lenz and Victor Franco. El-Baze, a photographer, also has some of her pieces included in the exhibition. The artists come from a number of countries including Mexico, France, Russia and Brazil, reflecting the melting pot that is Israeli society.
“What I like about the work is that there are many different artists, coming from many directions, and each one has a specificity of his own,” explains El-Baze.
“I think it is a very interesting show – both abstract and figurative.”

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Art in the Namal runs through August 18 at the Amalia Arbel Gallery, 3 Shaar Zion Street, Tel Aviv. For more info contact (03) 544-4399 or visit: www.babylone-art.com