Israel's art roundup: Celebrating a golden Jubilee of Jerusalem Prints

JERUSALEM

ARIK KILEMNIK – The founder of the Jerusalem Print Workshop celebrates 50 years of ongoing artistic excellence with two exhibitions. War and Peace – 50 Years of the Jerusalem Print Workshop (Curated by Emanuela Calò and Or Sand) will be shown at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art until Thursday, November 28. 

TO The other one is 50 Years of Exhibitions, curated by Merav Hamburger, which celebrates half a century of print exhibitions in the historic Jerusalem Print Workshop building with a selection of exhibition banners. (Opening Event on Friday, July 19, 11 am)

Originally owned by the Turjman family, the dilapidated structure was claimed by the state after the Six Day War and handed to a Holocaust survivor from Lodz, who was using it as a sweatshop when Kilemnik first entered it in the early 1970’s.

 Trained in the US, he fell in love with lithography and etching at the Pratt Institute and, due to his devotion, was gifted the designs to the press he trained on by its Jewish-Austrian builder. “The garment center in New York, the textile industry, these were the places that kept printing alive,” he said.

The young man, struck with the vision of rebuilding the press in the Jerusalem location, offered the elderly survivor one-hundred lira as a down payment.

“I fibbed to my wife they cut my teaching wages at the Bezalel Art Academy so that she won’t box my ears,” the beaming 90-year-old Kilemnik told The Jerusalem Post as he joyfully presented the various antique presses used in the workshop, the many artworks made on them, and the unique history of the place.

Local artists such as Liliane Klapisch, Alex Kremer and Moshe Gershuni worked here and world-famous artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Alexander Calder stepped in as well, according to a story Eric Shecter reported for the Post when he met Kilemnik to mark the Print Workshop’s silver jubilee.

WHEN I visited it, Medad Eliyahu was just completing a series of prints meant for Krakow, Poland, where his new exhibition Pendulm is currently shown at the Shefter Gallery. 

Curated by Tal Schwartz, it will be shown until Wednesday, July 31. The importance of the Print Workshop as a place that offers current artists like Eliyahu the space and means to produce Israeli art, which is then shared with the world, is beyond rubies.

An upper level gallery space is devoted to the late Nechama Rivlin, who was a patron of the arts. In an unusual twist of fate, Abd Anton Turjman, the original owner of the building, met her there and was charmed by her presence. 

The Turjman family once owned another important art space in the capital, the Museum on the Seam. While it is unlikely Rivlin convinced Turjman his loss shouldn’t be recognized, the encounter at least points to a possible path towards dialog.

The Print Workshop building also has a so-called Widow’s Balcony. Designed for sailor’s wives to observe the sea and learn of their husbands’ fate, this balcony offers a wonderful view of the Dome of the Rock. 

The historic building, now restored, is a symbolic linchpin keeping the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) and Arab communities around it balanced. “I’d hate to think what might happen should we ever close,” Kilemnik said: “probably the beginning of a Third World War.” He was only half joking.

Join a Hebrew panel discussion with Kilemnik and Calò at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on Thursday, July 25, at 7 p.m. NIS 70 per ticket. 27 Shaul HaMelech Blvd., Tel Aviv. Call (03) 607-7020 for info. Visit the Print Workshop at 38 Shivtei Israel St. Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The exhibition in Jerusalem is without an end date. It is also possible to study etching and printmaking at the workshop, and purchase existing artworks in its collection, contact jprint74@gmail.com to learn more.

TUESDAY, JULY 9 – Attend the opening event of Manofim Art Festival at Mt. Zion with Believe, curated by Rinat Edelstein. 

The group exhibition explores how two cultures might co-exist after intense violence in a space deemed holy to both. 

It will be shown at two locations, one on the mountain and the other overlooking it. 

The five-day long celebration of art and music kicks off with The Great Gehenna Choir performing at Dormition Church at 8 p.m. (NIS 35 per ticket). Learn more about the dance performances, guided tours, and children oriented activities via https://manofim.org/en/ .

PETAH TIKVA

VANITAS – Inspired by the 17th century Flemish paintings that reminded the viewer of the passage of time and to be mindful of death, Doron Wolf was inspired to present oil paintings in this exhibition, curated by Reut Ferster, that depict patrons of natural history museums. 

Wolf usually snaps these pictures using a mobile phone and then paints the image in a hyper-realistic manner on the canvas. The result is a bittersweet yet powerful examination of our relationship with time and nature. Shown until the end of the year.

30 Arlozorov St. Opening Hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. NIS 30 for adults, NIS 15 for children between the ages of five and twelve. English guided tours are possible, book via (03) 928-6304

TEL AVIV

MONDAY, JULY 8 – Catch the tail-end of Fresh Paint, a commercial-oriented art fair, and see In the Meanwhile (Beintayim) a solo exhibition of works by Shahaf Levy, curated by Raz Shapira. Having won the Israel Makov Award last year, he is now showing a series of paintings created in response to the October 7 Hamas terror attack. 

Levy quoted his grandmother and said “it is hard to paint in the air when storms happen outside.” 

Shapira, it should be noted, rejects the idea that commercial appeal is somehow an indication of lesser quality artworks, pointing out that without a community of art-buyers, it would be nearly impossible for the art world to renew itself.

Shown at the Urban Sports Center, 4 Shitrit St. Opening Hours 4-10 p.m. Guided Hebrew tours are offered at NIS 190 per ticket (5, 6 and 7:30 p.m.) and includes meeting the artists. NIS 68 per regular admission. All works shown are for sale. Learn more via https://www.freshpaint.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 hagayhacohen@yahoo.com with “Art Roundup” in the email subject.