Guy Avital’s Across River exhibition at Chelouche Gallery presents paintings created over the past two years. The works portray his experimental journey between transitions and traditions, originating in Abraham at Terach’s shop, a sculptor and creator of ancient idols. Through this historical junction the artist explores the relationship between fathers and sons, figurative and abstract art, labor and ritual practice, as well as examining the internal and the external gaze, thus representing the river that flows between them. In this exhibition Avital combines his past use of cuttings and collages with folk and fictional objects as well as setting up altars.
The exhibition intertwines themes of worship and manual labor, highlighting a clear sense of duality which is a distinct characteristic of the working practice of any artist. Local folklores are set alongside art historical-references, combined with aspects of daily life form a vibrant and visual tale, transformed into a familiar and personal tapestry of life
The works portray a biblical-Persian-modernist view, presented through various motifs; the Nazar from the market which bursts countlessly onto the canvas. The work alludes to droplets of water, together with the incorporation of surgical gloves, gold leaf, the implementation of geometric and fragmented shapes with ceramic pots form an eclectic cultural collage, drawn from the perception of the individual.
While the works explore the sensory and the motivated by the physical, the gaze becomes distanced. The gaze exists beyond the river. In essence, the paintings remain a metaphorical exploration that questions the notion of what is possible, blurring the line between the fictional and the real.
Guy Avital (B.1973), Studied at Chelsea College in London and the Kunstakademie in Düsseldorf. He is a graduate of the Bezalel Academy MFA program. Avital participated in Solo exhibitions in galleries and museums in Israel, among them; Haifa Museum of Art, Chelouche Gallery for Contemporary Art, The Artist Studio Tel Aviv, Inga Gallery for Contemporary Art. He took part in many group exhibitions in Israel and Europe. Avital’s work is in public and privet collections in Israel and Europe.
