Three artists, three questions: Born in the ’70s: We walk

Amid the reality of war and the ongoing Jewish holidays, so emotionally challenging for all of us living in Israel, artists provide viewers with space for reflection and, at times perhaps, with new views on subjects already known to them. 

In my search for Israeli artists to speak to, this time I came across three artists born in the 1970s (while all from Gen X, none claim to be the voice of their generation). Born, respectively, in Haifa, Paris, and Kyiv, they grew up in very different realities and present very distinct approaches to art. Nevertheless, while talking to them, I discovered surprising similarities among them. They walk and absorb. (Being a walker myself, I can easily relate to this way of noticing the world – not through the media but by the observations in vivo.)  

They see the world while strolling, and transfer their feelings in their unique ways. Each of them, in his or her own way, refers to the history of art, the Impressionists’ light, the thousands of years of mosaics, or biblical heritage. In the past year, they have also expressed their sensations connected to their walks during the war. 

These three artists agreed to answer my three questions:

1. What inspires you?
2. What do you call art?
3. What, in your opinion, makes your artwork different from that of other artists?

Boaz Noy

Born (in 1972) and raised in Haifa and based there today, Boaz Noy is an artist with a background in architecture and is a graduate of Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. 

Growing up in an Ashkenazi family – his mother a Polish Holocaust survivor – with no artistic connections, Noy didn’t plan to be an artist, but painting was always present in his life. As a teenager, he took lessons from Israeli painter Sabina Mandel and kept painting during his six years as a naval officer in the IDF.

The turning point for him was a year in Paris, where at almost 30, he studied landscape architecture at Ecole La Villette. However, instead of developing his skills as an architect, fascinated by Paris, all he could do was paint. And he hasn’t stopped. 

Noy’s technique is oil on canvas and his main focus is on landscapes, which he creates with great sensitivity to the light. In his paintings, Noy catches moments and feelings he experiences during long walks. He makes sketches or uses his phone camera to make “notes,” transforming them later on canvas with unlimited freedom. He noted that being a self-taught artist gives him the benefit of making his own mistakes and finding his own path. 

In the past year, post-Oct. 7, having experienced many attacks on his city and its surroundings, he has had to reflect on the possibility of not having this city forever. In his latest solo exhibition, “The Garden Keeper” at Mishkan Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Noy depicts these feelings; one of his paintings is titled Ready. For Anything.

Noy, recipient of the Artist in the Community award from the Culture Ministry from 2012-2014 exhibits in Israel and abroad, and his paintings (represented by Rosenfeld Gallery) are part of public and private collections.

INSPIRATION: “The more ‘ordinary’ the inspiration is, the more determined and creative I become. I don’t look for inspiration in far away, ideal, or mythical places but in the here and now, in what is at my fingertips. I try to capture the blink of an eye or the fleeting glance, stay with it for a moment, and highlight and transform it until it becomes one with the world. 

“At a time when our city and homes are under attack, these moments become rare and precious, and I grow even more determined and energetic in my search for them. In general, the Israeli urban environment is very raw, multifaceted, and full of tension (and not without aesthetic problems), but those faults can become useful challenges for a painter. The cityscape is unique, one-off, and reflects society. I find satisfaction in breaking it down into its basic components and reassembling it in search of its inner DNA and harmony.”

MEANING OF ART: “Art is an option. It is an opportunity to provide an alternative experience of existence, a complex and profound set of values, and a cultural spring of context. I imagine art and creation as a huge reservoir of water that we are nourished by, and it restores our souls. It has flavors and nuances that are shared among human beings and communities, which is why these days it is such a rare and necessary commodity.”

NOY’S ART: “I always think of the medium of painting as a rear-guard campaign or a dance of aft sails. The gaze of the painter is directed backward, toward Old Masters and things that have been said and done, time and time again. But they must manifest themselves in the constantly shifting winds of time. During an era when it seems that energy is always invested forward, into the ‘next new thing,’ into discoveries that have not yet been discovered and technology that has not yet been invented, it is good to look back and try to be a link in the chain of painting. That’s why I strive to reach up to the ankles of older artists or historical artists that I admire – such as Lilianne Klapisch (long may she live), Israeli Ori Reisman, Richard Diebenkorn, Nicolas de Stael, Matisse, Derain, Cézanne of course, and many other heroes.”

boaznoy.com/

Sophia Kaminiski 

Born in Paris, Sophia Kaminski learned various mosaic techniques and artistic sculpture from artists Monique Sidelsky and Giovanna Galli. Kaminski made aliyah in 1997, when she was in her early 20s. She lives and works in Jerusalem. 

Her artistic language combines traditional and contemporary modes of expression, and she draws inspiration from Judaica, ancient mosaic, and street art. Kaminski paints and makes mosaics and collages, often incorporating biblical quotes and what she notices in contemporary culture. She works with Israeli marble, Venetian glass, and Eilat stone. 

“I love to discover the heart of the stone,” she said. “In my work, I express joy and positive-mindedness through the bounty of colors.”

Nevertheless, the past year has had an impact on her otherwise optimistic work: “In the aftermath of Oct. 7, I imprisoned more than 200 mirrors in a bloody canvas to signify that each of us must feel concerned by this tragedy and that in the end, we are all hostages because we are a people with solidarity that nothing can hinder.”

Kaminski’s works are now on view in Jerusalem at two locations: at the Rosenbach Gallery, and in her solo exhibition “At the Dawn of the Great Denouement” at The North Africa Jewish Heritage Center. In Paris, she is currently showing at the 121st edition of the annual group exhibition “Le Salon d’Automne” at the Historical Art Salon on Champs-Elysees (until October 27).

INSPIRATION: “I find inspiration from several sources: Jewish sources, biblical texts, Hebrew calligraphy, Hebrew letters (which I am completely in love with), and the major hope of the messianic revelation for a redeemed world, a belief that is one of the cornerstones of the Jewish tradition. 

“My grandfather was killed by Nazi barbarity, [which] brings me a lot of thoughts and reflections that find expression in my artistic work. I am also inspired by ‘the street’ – people are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. I like to walk, observe, decipher attitudes, and take inspiration from the colors of a market stall.”

MEANING OF ART: “Art is this substance that must make you think, raise questions, stir from the inside, and encourage introspection. But it also provides a certain pleasure to the eye. I like colors, and I like it when emotion springs forth through the play of colors I stage. 

“Art must be the combination of a certain reflection and a certain aestheticism. Art is also a tool to denounce and to heal.”

KAMINSKI’S ART: “I mix mosaic, an ancestral art, with street art; popular messages with verses from Jewish books – all of this in a fairyland of colors with Kabbalistic messages and messages of joy because joy breaks all limits – that, too, is a very Jewish idea. 

“I like to introduce messages in my mosaics in the manner of a street artist. I juggle with prestigious materials such as marble, glass, and mirrors in the manner of an ancient mosaic to say, for example, “Life should be celebrated.” And this message is deeply Jewish because life has a supreme value in Judaism.

“I like Hebrew letters and I like colors. For example, I created a painting where the first three books of Kohelet are written in all directions and in all colors. ‘Vanity of vanities,’ said Kohelet. ‘Vanity of vanities; everything is vanity.’ In the end, you shouldn’t take yourself too seriously.”

instagram.com/kaminski.sophia/

Evgeny Merman

Born in 1977 in then-Soviet Kyiv, Evgeny Merman began his art education in the first grade. “I learned from age seven at the National Art School. My education was interrupted by us moving to Jerusalem in 1990,” he recalled. Merman continued his art studies eight years later, not in Israel but at New York’s School of Visual Arts, and he lived in New York and Hong Kong for several years. Currently, he is based in Tel Aviv.

In his oil paintings, Merman aims to capture moments of life, people, stories, and fragments of visual information. He also relates to biblical stories. In his current exhibition “Noah & The Rest” at Tel Aviv’s Wertheimer Gallery, he reflects on Israel’s current situation and Noah’s biblical family. “The image of the patriarch and savior of mankind on the one hand, and the image of a person forced to endure the tragic events of loneliness on another, was very inspiring to me,” he said. He became interested in Noah’s story shortly before the war broke out; now it is layered with extra meaning.

Merman’s works have been exhibited in several solo exhibitions and group shows in Israel, Ukraine, Germany, and Hong Kong and are part of the collection of many museums and galleries. In 2019, he received first prize at the 33rd Kyoto Art Festival in Japan.

INSPIRATION: “Inspiration is a sign from heaven. Just joking... or not! 

“One day, on the way to my studio, I saw a string of clouds floating across the sky. They were pure and beautiful, and inspiring... Inspiration comes from different events in your life and the lives of other people; from books, as images invented by a writer, and films, as life stories captured by the director. 

“I love traveling. It’s very inspiring; meeting with new or old places feels like something new and mysteriously interesting is waiting around every corner. For me, the most inspiring place on Earth is ‘my own personal Jerusalem.’ I love this city of my youth, and every meeting with it is like a new love, very inspiring! Then I sketch or write in my notebook on the way back to Tel Aviv’s everyday life. Inspiration is life itself in all its manifestations!”

MEANING OF ART: “Since childhood, for me, there’s joy, optimism, and hope in art. Art is something very personal for me. Minutes of verity and truth that I discover at first for myself, and then I try to share a part of this truth with people.

“Maybe this will sound too lofty – and even banal – but I will repeat what Picasso once said: ‘Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.’”

MERMAN’S ART: “I make art because I have no other choice, I have to do it. Of course, having an art academic background, I have my ‘aleph-bet’ if I need to use it to create a realistic portrait, for example. But I don’t aim for my art to be different, I don’t think of it this way; it is [different] because it is mine. 

“What sets my art apart are my roots, and they spread across various places, and I continue to build bridges between them. Through the process, I search for answers life brings.”

evgenymerman.com/ 