Celebrating Israel’s 75th through art
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Photos by Guy Philip Tubbs Photography
Consul General Livia Link-Raviv with artists Kfir Moyal (left) and Natan Elkanovich. |
Off The Wall Gallery features work of international artists
As a young boy in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova, Natan Elkanovich spent countless hours in the kitchen alongside his mother. They would cook meals together, and then he would transform the finished dishes into artistic, edible masterpieces.
“I used to make little paintings from eggs or carrots or whatever we had because there was not much food in Russia,” he recalled.
When Elkanovich was 10, his family moved to Israel for a better life.
“It was a miracle that we were in this country with amazing people who did everything they could to preserve the country and make it flourish,” the Tel Aviv-based artist told the JHV during his visit to Houston. He was referring to Israel’s founding leaders, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan and Menachem Begin.
Elkanovich pays homage to their legacies in a series of three-dimensional acrylic and silicon portraits that can be seen and touched (which he encourages) at Off The Wall Gallery in The Galleria, now through Saturday, May 13.
His pieces, which also include an image of a wounded Israeli soldier calling attention to a senseless war, are part of a large exhibition of internationally renowned artists, titled “Homeland/Moledet,” which commemorates the 75th anniversary of Israel’s independence.
Fellow Israeli artists displaying their extraordinary work at Off The Wall are Ilan Adar, a self-taught versatile painter, sculptor and photographer; Sigalit Landau, a large-scale site installation artist, famous for submerging pieces in the saltwaters of the Dead Sea; Dorit Levinstein, a sculptor known for her unique forms, figures and colors; Kfir Moyal, a Miami-based pop artist, known for his dazzling, crystal-encrusted portraits; Mei H. Nelson, a self-taught abstract painter living in Houston; Rina Peleg, a ceramic artist who uses coils and an extruder to execute her pieces; and American artist Charles Fazzino, known for his whimsical, vibrant pop art of three-dimensional cityscapes and famous landmarks.
“This is a great opportunity to celebrate our independence in a very unique and special way with an exhibit that showcases the diversity and uniqueness of Israeli art,” said the Hon. Livia Link-Raviv, consul general of Israel to the Southwest United States.
“The word Moledet, or Homeland, is a very meaningful, significant and sometimes heavy word for us but very present in our day-to-day, in our identity and, therefore, present in our art, because art reflects society.”
Rabbi Gideon Estes of Congregation Or Ami in West Houston was among the dozens of art enthusiasts who attended the show’s opening reception Thursday, May 4.
“I really appreciate how this exhibition covers the whole gamut of art, and I’m thankful for what the Consulate and Off The Wall Gallery are doing to bring this range of work to Houston,” Rabbi Estes told the JHV.
“Israel has an incredibly creative art scene and to get a sense of the contemporary artists is fascinating. I think art is one of those ways of harnessing the fact that you can have a diversity of opinions, which I think is so important in this day and age.”
As a young boy in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova, Natan Elkanovich spent countless hours in the kitchen alongside his mother. They would cook meals together, and then he would transform the finished dishes into artistic, edible masterpieces.
“I used to make little paintings from eggs or carrots or whatever we had because there was not much food in Russia,” he recalled.
When Elkanovich was 10, his family moved to Israel for a better life.
“It was a miracle that we were in this country with amazing people who did everything they could to preserve the country and make it flourish,” the Tel Aviv-based artist told the JHV during his visit to Houston. He was referring to Israel’s founding leaders, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Golda Meir, Moshe Dayan and Menachem Begin.
Elkanovich pays homage to their legacies in a series of three-dimensional acrylic and silicon portraits that can be seen and touched (which he encourages) at Off The Wall Gallery in The Galleria, now through Saturday, May 13.
His pieces, which also include an image of a wounded Israeli soldier calling attention to a senseless war, are part of a large exhibition of internationally renowned artists, titled “Homeland/Moledet,” which commemorates the 75th anniversary of Israel’s independence.
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Rabbi Gideon Estes of Congregation Or Ami admires works by Natan Elkanovich. |
Fellow Israeli artists displaying their extraordinary work at Off The Wall are Ilan Adar, a self-taught versatile painter, sculptor and photographer; Sigalit Landau, a large-scale site installation artist, famous for submerging pieces in the saltwaters of the Dead Sea; Dorit Levinstein, a sculptor known for her unique forms, figures and colors; Kfir Moyal, a Miami-based pop artist, known for his dazzling, crystal-encrusted portraits; Mei H. Nelson, a self-taught abstract painter living in Houston; Rina Peleg, a ceramic artist who uses coils and an extruder to execute her pieces; and American artist Charles Fazzino, known for his whimsical, vibrant pop art of three-dimensional cityscapes and famous landmarks.
“This is a great opportunity to celebrate our independence in a very unique and special way with an exhibit that showcases the diversity and uniqueness of Israeli art,” said the Hon. Livia Link-Raviv, consul general of Israel to the Southwest United States.
“The word Moledet, or Homeland, is a very meaningful, significant and sometimes heavy word for us but very present in our day-to-day, in our identity and, therefore, present in our art, because art reflects society.”
Rabbi Gideon Estes of Congregation Or Ami in West Houston was among the dozens of art enthusiasts who attended the show’s opening reception Thursday, May 4.
“I really appreciate how this exhibition covers the whole gamut of art, and I’m thankful for what the Consulate and Off The Wall Gallery are doing to bring this range of work to Houston,” Rabbi Estes told the JHV.
“Israel has an incredibly creative art scene and to get a sense of the contemporary artists is fascinating. I think art is one of those ways of harnessing the fact that you can have a diversity of opinions, which I think is so important in this day and age.”