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Solo exhibition: "You had to be there" At Artspace gallery
October 2012
Post by Dalit Nemirovsky about the exhibition in the "Telavivian" magazine
A review by Heddy Abramowitz "Times of Israel"
A review by Heddy Abramowitz "Times of Israel"
The Israel National Museum in Jerusalem purchases three of Gil's paintings
June 2012
Gil's paintings chosen by the Tel Aviv municipality building-size CityArt gallery
March 2012
At the opening of "What is Real?", Copenhagen
March 2012
With Israeli ambassador Dan Oryan, gallery owner Malou Erritzoe and artist Sharon Balaban.
What is Real Opening Thursday, March 1, ME contemporary will present a group show titled, What is Real? In collaboration with Tavi Art Gallery in Tel Aviv, ME will feature a selection of contemporary Israeli artists whose works, subjects, and view points provide a window into contemporary Israeli art and a glimpse thru an “insider's” lens at the culture and people which inspire it.
Images and impressions of Israel have cropped up in exhibitions in and around Copenhagen in recent years. At times, Israel has served as subject or even muse to artists, and lent its images of cobble stone streets and historical landscapes to our imagination of a different, more idealized era. In others, snapshots of war and struggle take center stage. But whether romanticized or hyped, our perspective on Israel, past and present, remains just that – an outsider's look “in” – and therefore begs the question: how do Israelis themselves view their culture, country, or even the outside world?
What is Real? presents a handful of contemporary Israeli artists whose choice of media ranges from short film to photography, and whose viewpoints and topics are just as diverse. What unites, these individuals, however, beside their nationality, is their sense of history and the underlying subject of their work: life in the country in which they reside.
A visitor to this group show will be met by a majestic sphynx cat, a religious youth, an Olympic athlete,a dead duck. One should not, however, expect to find images of war in this exhibition. Many of the works here are plucked from scenes of everyday life, and while they can be highly political in their own right – such as raising awareness to the politics of gender or religion – the discussion of the current political situation remains largely absent. Instead, these half dozen or so artists create vignettes of a so-called “ordinary” everyday life, and allow us, the viewer, an intimate, almost voyeuristic glance into aspects of Israeli contemporary culture.
Lea Golda Holterman, whose photographs have been exhibited both in Israel and abroad, presents works from her Orthodox Eros Series, a collection of prints depicting Jewish religious youths as seen through the artist's unique lens. Holterman displays these young men as objects of beauty and passion: partially clothed and vulnerable, yet confident. Sexualized, yet innocent. The delicate, almost feminine poses, the illusion of an oil painting, are reminiscent of the old masters – of Rembrandt and Caravaggio – only here, the roles of photographer and subject have been reversed. Holterman, a woman, is the artist and director while her subject, a man, is the lead actor in this unfolding drama – an icon to be worshiped.
To some, artist Gil Haller's paintings in black and white may seem like a study of curious subjects and groupings: athletes' images being taken during competition, an unidentified woman riding a bicycle, an old doll. Like Holterman's photographs, Haller's works seem to whisper secrets that we simply cannot hear or comprehend. Upon closer inspection, however, these images become faintly familiar, recalling those we have seen time and again: Europe, 1930's. While to some, life continued largely uninterrupted, to others, a completely different story emerged. While to some, life became a struggle, to others, the very struggle for existence began. Haller's works illustrate this duality, and show us that there always exists the “truth” that is displayed before us, and the one that resides just behind the scenes.
Video artist Sharon Balaban's short films depict objects and scenes familiar to us from our own lives, from dish soap and pot cleaning, to brushing teeth, her videos are whimsical, poetic, and quite breathtaking. But Balaban does not make light of her creations, nor does she take these daily rituals for granted. Balaban is at once political, but not “in your face.” She often borrows household objects to bring about a discussion of gender roles, of the place of the woman in the house, and does so in the softest of ways. What is perhaps most refreshing about Balaban is that her objects do not pretend to be anything they are not. Balaban's strength is that she can create beauty from the object she borrows, instead of detracting from what it is.
One can draw many threads and find multiple meanings and commonalities among the works of the artists in this exhibition: From Pesi Girsch's Natures Mortes, a project in which she took animals that were killed in unnatural ways (roadkill, poison, etc), and given a final and everlasting resting place, to the immortalized sphynx cat of Angelika Sher. From Sher's Untitled 2006 work resembling the Madonna and Child, to Lea Golden Halterman's Orthodox Jewish icons, What is Real? displays an array of works by contemporary Israeli artists that provides an inside look into the country and culture that inspires them.
Images and impressions of Israel have cropped up in exhibitions in and around Copenhagen in recent years. At times, Israel has served as subject or even muse to artists, and lent its images of cobble stone streets and historical landscapes to our imagination of a different, more idealized era. In others, snapshots of war and struggle take center stage. But whether romanticized or hyped, our perspective on Israel, past and present, remains just that – an outsider's look “in” – and therefore begs the question: how do Israelis themselves view their culture, country, or even the outside world?
What is Real? presents a handful of contemporary Israeli artists whose choice of media ranges from short film to photography, and whose viewpoints and topics are just as diverse. What unites, these individuals, however, beside their nationality, is their sense of history and the underlying subject of their work: life in the country in which they reside.
A visitor to this group show will be met by a majestic sphynx cat, a religious youth, an Olympic athlete,a dead duck. One should not, however, expect to find images of war in this exhibition. Many of the works here are plucked from scenes of everyday life, and while they can be highly political in their own right – such as raising awareness to the politics of gender or religion – the discussion of the current political situation remains largely absent. Instead, these half dozen or so artists create vignettes of a so-called “ordinary” everyday life, and allow us, the viewer, an intimate, almost voyeuristic glance into aspects of Israeli contemporary culture.
Lea Golda Holterman, whose photographs have been exhibited both in Israel and abroad, presents works from her Orthodox Eros Series, a collection of prints depicting Jewish religious youths as seen through the artist's unique lens. Holterman displays these young men as objects of beauty and passion: partially clothed and vulnerable, yet confident. Sexualized, yet innocent. The delicate, almost feminine poses, the illusion of an oil painting, are reminiscent of the old masters – of Rembrandt and Caravaggio – only here, the roles of photographer and subject have been reversed. Holterman, a woman, is the artist and director while her subject, a man, is the lead actor in this unfolding drama – an icon to be worshiped.
To some, artist Gil Haller's paintings in black and white may seem like a study of curious subjects and groupings: athletes' images being taken during competition, an unidentified woman riding a bicycle, an old doll. Like Holterman's photographs, Haller's works seem to whisper secrets that we simply cannot hear or comprehend. Upon closer inspection, however, these images become faintly familiar, recalling those we have seen time and again: Europe, 1930's. While to some, life continued largely uninterrupted, to others, a completely different story emerged. While to some, life became a struggle, to others, the very struggle for existence began. Haller's works illustrate this duality, and show us that there always exists the “truth” that is displayed before us, and the one that resides just behind the scenes.
Video artist Sharon Balaban's short films depict objects and scenes familiar to us from our own lives, from dish soap and pot cleaning, to brushing teeth, her videos are whimsical, poetic, and quite breathtaking. But Balaban does not make light of her creations, nor does she take these daily rituals for granted. Balaban is at once political, but not “in your face.” She often borrows household objects to bring about a discussion of gender roles, of the place of the woman in the house, and does so in the softest of ways. What is perhaps most refreshing about Balaban is that her objects do not pretend to be anything they are not. Balaban's strength is that she can create beauty from the object she borrows, instead of detracting from what it is.
One can draw many threads and find multiple meanings and commonalities among the works of the artists in this exhibition: From Pesi Girsch's Natures Mortes, a project in which she took animals that were killed in unnatural ways (roadkill, poison, etc), and given a final and everlasting resting place, to the immortalized sphynx cat of Angelika Sher. From Sher's Untitled 2006 work resembling the Madonna and Child, to Lea Golden Halterman's Orthodox Jewish icons, What is Real? displays an array of works by contemporary Israeli artists that provides an inside look into the country and culture that inspires them.
Straight off the press
August 2011
Straight off the press: The Bulgarian art magazine "Photobulletin" With an eight page article about Gil's work
