About

A conceptual thought:

At the beginning of the 19th century,  cameras were brought to life. This invention changed the entire art scene and most paintings and sculptures of that time.

Photography eliminated the need for portrait painting. Cameras could do with one click, what previously took a portrait painter a month. A new artistic form emerged, impressionism, coming from Degas, Renoir, Manet, and Monnet and a few more rejected artists.  Now there was no need to copy the human figure or nature itself, but rather to interpret it through artists’ eyes. The rise of impressionism heralded the beginning of the modernism movement in art.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the artist Marcel Duchamp took that interpretation of reality to a whole new level, introducing what is now known as conceptual art. This style of art is based on a philosophical notion that abstract ideas can and should lead artists through the process of creation. A gap between “practical” and “conceptual” arts and crafts emerged.

To my mind, contemporary Israeli art and culture which reflects our artists’ roots does not exist. Israeli artists tend to create and move on. Our artists seem to strive for continuity, but because of the political, cultural, and social chaos that characterizes our relatively young society, we know no rest. Israeli artists tend to be on a constant quest for artistic serenity. The fast pace of our modern Israeli lives make it difficult to endure and build a unique artistic culture.

Collective memory in Israel is usually linked to wars. From the mythical depiction of the destruction of the first temple to “Operation Cast Lead” with Gaza, deeply rooted collective memory hardly exists for us, although such memory may come with time.

Creation and destruction, neglect of the old and worship of the new, these are the elements that guide my work.

The history of porcelain has followed the trajectory of human history. It has evolved from being a highly prized commodity with the same value as gold, to a common one, accessible to the masses.
In my work I try to point out this process. Pure and translucent white porcelain gets “dirty” with overlay colors and carbon black from the gas reduction firing. This makes the objects look “poor,” but then gold which was once of equal value to porcelain, is added to uplift it back to its greatness.

This process leads to the creation of practical, usable, handmade, conceptual objects that are so precious that one will want to display them. Art or craft?  I leave that for you to decide.