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April 6, 2012
From the pot and into the fire
Israeli ceramic artwork is on exhibit in Bellingham until July 8.
LAUREN KRAMER
An exhibition of contemporary Israeli ceramic art opened at Bellingham’s Whatcom Museum’s Lightcatcher Building March 25, where 37 works are on display until July 8. Titled From the Melting Pot into the Fire, the artworks are complex and thought-provoking, delving into several themes that include the concept of home and housing, the meaning of boundaries and borders, perspectives on archeology – both past and in the future – and the architectural symbiosis of East and West.
The exhibition is of particular importance because of its exceptional quality, said Barbara Matilsky, curator of art at the Lightcatcher. “In a group exhibition, it is rare for the work of all of the artists represented to be consistently strong, but in this one, they are,” she explained. “The exhibition can be appreciated for its formal beauty and the diverse ways that the medium of clay is interpreted, but it can also be appreciated for the subtle nuances of its content. The works of art hint at issues relating to identity, homeland, fragility and the vulnerability of life in the Middle East. It is poignant yet powerful from both the physicality of the objects and the emotional meanings they express.”
The artwork and captions will give viewers new insight into modern-day life in Israel, offering a very different perspective than the one typically shown in the daily news, she added.
Yael Novak, the Israeli artist and curator of the exhibit, said she and her 41 fellow artists exhibiting their work hope to “share with the public some of the most innovative ceramic work being created in Israel today, as well as address personal and communal issues of place within an immigrant society, a topic that resonates deeply within a melting pot nation such as the United States.”
The exhibit includes the work of Martha Rieger, a 48-year-old artist who describes growing up in Brazil as a child of a mixed Jewish-Christian family. “Today, after many years, I have come to realize that I am a product of the two faiths,” she writes. Two of her three wheel-thrown white clay pots bear symbols of the two faiths, while in the third, the symbols are mixed together to represent her dual identity.
Novak’s work, titled “In Between the Pots,” presents a long row of terracotta pots of different shapes and sizes, arranged on a shelf. To understand their meaning, viewers have to look between the pots and into the outlines their touching forms create – only then are icons of Israeli identity revealed: the water tower, the mosque’s minaret and the cypress tree.
Artist Ziona Benor reflects on the concept of home in her piece, “Return to Sender.” It depicts three half-open boxes floating on water. “My house changes location depending on where life takes me,” she explains in her statement. “It is just a box I rent for the required period and occupy with my family. That is my territory and identity. When the period is over, I leave for another box in another place.”
Another representation of home is in the work of Dvora Cohen, which depicts clay structures in the shape of homes, their forms arranged over a wheel-like structure. “The inspiration for my work was the ‘tent of congregation’ that led the Israeli[te] people through the desert for 40 years,” she writes in her caption. “This mobile tent symbolized the monotheistic identification of the Israeli[te] people, which isolated them from other people in the area.”
Browse through the exhibition and the viewer is absorbed into the meaning and reflections of the artists. Some of the pieces contain more complexities than others, but each carries a message, a reflection of life in Israel as seen through the artists’ eyes.
The majority of the work presented in From the Melting Pot was created by Israeli women as opposed to men, said Matilsky. “They feel more comfortable expressing their vulnerability,” she said.
Their art “reflects the complex cultural, political and economic conditions in which they work,” writes Shlomit Bauman, visiting lecturer in ceramic design at the Holon Institute of Technology, in the foreword to the exhibition catalogue. “These circumstances serve to cultivate an original and unique approach to ceramics and give Israeli ceramic art its many intrinsically outstanding qualities.”
The exhibition came to Bellingham courtesy of funding from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and this will be its only stop on a U.S. national tour. “We’re extremely fortunate to be able to host this,” Matilsky said. “From the Melting Pot into the Fire provides the Bellingham community and visitors from Vancouver and Seattle an opportunity to experience amazing works of art while learning about life in an area of the world known mainly through news media. Through the exhibition and related public programs (see whatcommuseum.org), people will become better acquainted with a diverse country that melds ancient history with contemporary cutting-edge art.”
The Whatcom Museum’s Lightcatcher Building gallery is located at 250 Flora St. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $10, $8 for seniors and $4.50 for children five and under. On Thursdays admission is half-price.
Lauren Kramer is an award-winning writer in Richmond. Read more of her work at laurenblogshere.com.
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