Visit Musa Eretz Israel Museum at 7:30 p.m. to celebrate the Mexican Day of the Dead with visiting artist Betsabeé Romero from Mexico at a unique event held as part of Art of Enchantment. The special Day of the Dead celebrations are supported by the Mexican embassy in Israel to mark seven decades of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Curated by Dr. Debby Hershman, the group exhibition allows art lovers to see works by Romero next to works by sound-artist Victoria Hanna, who presents a personal examination of Jewish ritual objects, and Ghanaian Sculptor El Anatsui, among others.
The heart of the exhibition is the installation Paxpa - There Is a Forest Encantada Inside of Us, which is rooted in the work of Ernesto Neto (Brazil) and “the genuine people” (Huni Kuin) from the State of Acre, Brazil. The curious reader might like to know that the Huni Kuin speak Hancha Kuin, or “real words” and not Spanish. The exhibition ends on Tuesday, November 22. Musa is at 2 Haim Levanon Street, Ramat Aviv. NIS52 per ticket.
Call 03-641-5244 to learn more.
Last chance to check out Lea Nikel
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5 – It’s the last day to see works by Lea Nikel, whom art critic Ozi Tzur has described as “the great colorist of Israeli art” and suggested her personal, bold, abstract works have more in common with American art than local art. Chiefly curated by Noemi Givon, the exhibition expands over three spaces in the north of the city: Givon Gallery (35 Gordon Street) HaLobby, A Zone for Art (6 Arlozorov Street) and Parterre (37 Frishman Street).
Each space offers another aspect of the late artist’s oeuvre: at Givon are paintings, at HaLobby are works on paper, at Parterre, curator Roee Brand placed a sketchbook by Nikel on a shtender (lecturn) taken from a nearby shul and visitors are invited to don white gloves when they turn the pages and see works between 1998 and 2000.
In her own writing about Nikel, Givon points to how the late artist was inspired by Joseph Zaritsky and his demand painting be universal to offer sophisticated, enjoyable paintings. “Many attempt to soar on this cloud, but still commit sins towards truth,” Givon suggests, “Nikel’s paintings disturb the ease of these sinners.”
Take part at the AIDA Invitational Silent Ceramic and Glass Auction from Sunday, October 30, at 7:30 p.m. to Saturday, November 5, at 2 p.m. and bid for new works by any of the thirty artists included. The sale begins at NIS1,000 per item and progresses in steps of NIS100 each. The sale is silent because the bidding is not public and patrons may bid without revealing their names and what sum they offer. The works are shown at Benyamini Contemporary Ceramics Center on 17 HaAmal Street.
Call 03-518-2257 to learn more.
Holon
Visit Afterlife at the Holon Digital Art Center (4 Amoraim Street) and enjoy works by Tama Goren (The Clappers), Alona Rodeh (The Juicer), and Jasmin Verdi (Deep in the Ground). While the poet Emily Dickinson noted, “One need not be a Chamber/to be Haunted/ One need not be a House/ The Brain has Corridors - surpassing/ Material Place” it is odd to see just how much local exhibitions are in tune with the Holon one in search of a world beyond this one.
Last year, the Ashdod Art Museum held Refaim (Ghosts). A decade ago, Matan Israeli invited Jerusalem residents to an art exhibition where he offered them food and coffee (Yisraeli is a trained chef) and in exchange, they were asked to paint over the walls of a Palestinian house the exhibition took part in (Naser/El-Bahu at May Gallery).
It seems that, as we are asked to go and vote over and over again concerning our future, we also reflect more and more on the past and our relationship to it. Admission is free. The exhibition ends on Saturday, December 31.
Art news
Reut Zamir won second place for My Ocean Twin at the first SwitchMED workshop held at the University of Haifa. SwitchMED is an-EU backed fund that supports a circular economy in the Mediterranean. Zamir’s project created a digital twin of a real part of the ocean. It was parceled and each parcel was minted as an NFT.
Profits generated from commerce in these NFTs are given to NGOs that clean plastic waste from the actual, real-world sea, as well as support efforts to prevent plastic pollution in the ocean. This innovative approach connects new ways of funding efforts to fight the climate crisis with novel ways of producing and selling art.
The University of Haifa is committed to promoting a Blue Economy, which means sustainable use of ocean resources. The workshop was led by the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences and Haifa Innovation Labs.
Attention, art lovers!
Art lovers take note. In her new book HaMeshutaf Kibbutz: Art from the Left 1978-1988, Tali Tamir takes the reader on an exciting ride through Kibbutz-made art and artists who functioned in the kibbutz. Visually, the reader faces the 1985 action of covering Kibbutz Gaash in red drapes ahead of May 1, 1985, as an act of protest against the invasion of Lebanon.
The works and artists reviewed in this valuable work tried to bridge the gap between Zionism and universal values from the school of socialist thought. “They held the tip of the cloak while the torn work shirt of A. D. Gordon... and his faded visage were crumbling away,” Tamir wrote in her forward regarding these artists. NIS150 per copy.
The publication of this book chanced upon another one released this year, the historical novel The Red Book by Assaf Inbari, which offers an imaginative vision of Yitzhak Tabenkin and other great father figures of the Zionist Left.
Those who are a little tired of high-minded, world-saving words might relish a detective novel set in the world of Israeli art collectors and Jewish seekers of Nazi-looted paintings. An Art Dealer Named Niemand, penned by Joseph Sissman, is an uneven but very enjoyable read.
Niemand is hired by an elderly man to find a stolen work by Chaim Soutine. The Gypsy is a real painting, as are other artists mentioned like Jozef Israëls and Claude Monet, yet the plot is very fictional. Niemand encounters mystery men and enchanting women at each European capital he visits, which makes spending time in his company quite fun. NIS98 per book. All books are in Hebrew.
Art Roundup intends to offer readers a monthly glance at some of the finest art exhibitions currently being shown across the country. Artists, curators and collectors are welcome to send pitches to hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com with Art Roundup in the email subject. While all suggestions are welcomed, sending information does not ensure the exhibition or collection will be featured.