JERUSALEM – Ziva Jelin’s 2010 painting, Winding Road, was riddled with bullets when Hamas invaded Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7. Now it is on display at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, between paintings by other artists who depicted Kibbutz life, like Ori Reisman and Yohanan Simon. Jelin was the curator of the Kibbutz Art Gallery. The rescued work is roughly two meters in size, and its reddish hue lends it an apocalyptic air. Amitai Mendelsohn, the museum’s senior curator for Israeli art, lauded the inclusion of the painting as “an expression of the human spirit as it fights evil, and the power of art to offer hope even in these hard days.” 11 Ruppin Blvd.
SPIRITS – A new sound work by Daniel Kiczales (curated by Amir Bolzman) is now shown at the Hansen House Tea House. The work uses an English interview originally given by former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1994 to offer an eerie sound – the murdered Israeli leader allegedly singing with a choir of four men.The work has eight movements, each part dealing with different aspects of Israeli society. Opening hours are Monday to Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Shown until February 1, 2024. 14 Gedaliah Alon St. Admission is free.
EIN HAROD – On Friday, December 22, attend the 11:00 a.m. opening of Kibbutz Anxiety, an exhibition of paintings by Kibbutz Be’eri artist Haran Kislev at Mishkan Museum of Art, Ein Harod. Kislev described Ori Reisman as a genius and shared he could relate to the artist, who was also a Kibbutz member.Reisman was often ill-treated over his decision to contribute to the collective by painting rather than farming, and Kislev also had similar moments. “What are we doing here really... ” Kislev told art writer Ofir Hovav after the Hamas attack on his kibbutz. “A madness of wars and dread when, at the bottom line, all this is over mud and earth.” Curated by Avi Lubin. For more, call (04) 648-6038.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY Osnat Ben Dov were destroyed when Hamas attacked Kibbutz Be’eri. Now the photographs and art-books were reprinted and placed at Ein Hod in a continuation of the exhibition, Shadow of a Fleeting Bird, curated by Sofie Berzon MacKie. Yigal Zorea, a well-known printer from the Kibbutz printing house, and a mini-celeb in the field of graphic design, is one of the artists showing his works at Ein Hod as part of the Vox Populi exhibition. Another artist included is Zeev Engelmayer, also known for his invented alter-ego Shoshke. The exhibition shows support to Be’eri residents and those held by Hamas in captivity. Zorea now lives in Ein Gedi. Readers may follow his works via https://kavimvenekudot.wordpress.com/. Janco-Dada Museum Ein Hod. Call (04) 984-2350 to learn more.
KIBBUTZ HAZORE’A – The Wilfrid Israel Museum hosts Cabri Gallery after it was temporarily closed due to the tense security situation up north. Jointly curated by Tamar Hurvitz Livne from Cabri and Shir Meller-Yamaguchi from the Wilfrid Israel Museum, this group exhibition includes fourteen artists, Jewish and Arab, who believe it is possible the repair the broken tapestry of shared existence on this land. Among the artists are Dobi Harel and Doaa Bsis. Shown until Saturday, December 30.
RAMLE – The Contemporary Art Center Ramle offers free admission to those evacuated from the North and South of the country when entering the Pool of the Arches, where works by Jewish-American artist Daniel Rothbart are shown as part of the Ramle Anthropocene exhibition (18 HaShomer St.) Italian-Israeli artist Elena Ceretti Stein is presenting her artworks at the CACR (112 Herzel St.) as part of The Place Where Roads Meet exhibition. Preregister at tour@goramla.com, or call ahead at (08) 9292650 to book your visit. Shown until January, 2024.
Art News When Oliver Bienkowski built a Holocaust monument in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2019, it was destroyed and he was ordered to leave. He then suggested to build a model of the Rainbow Kaaba for Documenta 15 in Kassel, Germany. Suggesting this cultural borrowing of Islam’s most sacred site would be a positive thing for LGBTQ Muslims all over the world. The offer was ignored but he inflated it anyway.Curated by Indonesian art-collective Ruangrupa, the 2022 Documenta 15 exhibition caused a major outcry in Germany and Israel, even without the Rainbow Kaaba model. The reason was a large mural, created by Taring Padi and titled People’s Justice. It depicted a pig-faced man with a scarf showing a Star of David. The pig-man wore a helmet with the name Mossad written on it. The mural was first covered in black drape, and then removed after a major international fiasco. Namely, how could German authorities approve and fund such a vile mural without realizing something is wrong? It seems the planned 2027 Documenta 16 will do no better. Israeli artist Bracha Lichtenberg Ettinger quit its selection committee last month due to what she described as “dark times,” Der Spiegel reported. All six members of the committee resigned too.Bienkowski has a new dream, to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, as an inflatable nylon fabric structure. He believes an inflatable temple is better than a concrete one because it would be possible to deflate, move, and re-inflate. “The time is right to share temple mount,” he told The Jerusalem Post, “we need people in Israel to support us.” His vision of the new temple is all inclusive, with LGBTQ Muslims, Jews, and Freemasons – all able to share the sacred space.Bienkowski is straight faced when he speaks about how his foundation, PixelHelper, rewrote the Quran in light of LGBTQ values. Yet, his actions might be seen as a continuation of famous pranksters like Abbie Hoffman or Abie Nathan. The former attempted to levitate the Pentagon in 1967 with psychic energy to end the Vietnam War, whereas the latter flew to Egypt from Israel in 1965, despite the hostility between the two nations, with the hope his daring feat will hasten a peace accord.Both men failed. The Pentagon did not levitate and the Vietnam War continued. Egypt arrested Nathan and deported him. But the things they wanted did eventually happen. The Vietnam War ended and Egypt signed a peace accord with Israel. Likewise, Binkowski is asking why are there no Holocaust monuments in the Islamic world, and how is it that Muslim countries execute LGBTQ people every year. He can be reached via oliver@pixelhelper.org.
SARIT SHAPIRA – was a leading art curator and writer until her death in 2018. Asia Publishing House had done a wonderful service to the local art scene by releasing a collection of her articles. Titled Sarit Shapira: Hagot VeMaase (Theory and Praxis), the volume offers a shining panoramic view of Israeli art in the 1990’s. As the artist Naomi Siman-Tov noted, the Post reported on a major group exhibition Shapira curated at Israel Museum in 1996. Titled Saf, it featured a tunnel-like work by Palestinian artist Khalil Rabah.The artwork was burned down four months after the opening by a Jewish high school student who attempted to answer a question his friends asked: is the tunnel they are in flammable? The answer was yes.Rabah requested to meet the young man and together, they co-created a work from the ashes of the original tunnel.Siman-Tov described Shapira as having a super-power, which was to connect local and international artists in expressive productions of art shows we no longer witness today.The book includes rare photographs. One of them is of an artwork by American artist David Hammons placed here. Hammons buried a red soda machine at the Peace Forest near Armon Hanatziv Promenade. NIS 150 per copy. See https://www.asiapublishers.co.il/en.Art Roundup is a monthly glance at some of the finest art exhibitions and events currently 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.