Zadok Ben-David
Blackfield
To embrace the world of Zadok Ben-David is to find oneself in a state of wonder. It is a world full of surprises where things are never quite what they seem ? an illusory
world of ?magical reality?.
The monumental ?Blackfield? installation, the centerpiece of this exhibition is made up of nearly five thousand flowers and plant sculptures no more than a few inches in height. The individual sculptures that make up Blackfield are black on the front and hand painted in colour on the reverse so as we circle it the work, gradually and miraculously, comes ablaze with colour. The eye is continually surprised and may not rest for any length of time in a single place. Even a blink, never mind physically moving and changing one?s perspective, confronts us with an entirely new viewpoint, both similar and utterly different to what one has encountered a few seconds before. The images are on a scale akin to Mughal miniatures and individually appear impossibly fragile. When confronted by such a massive installation it is hard not to rub one?s eyes in wonder. How is something so substantial, so big, made from elements that are so small ? even ephemeral.
The Perspex Glass Boxes are random groupings of the flowers ? segments of the overall installation, encompassing the larger installation in a smaller format. One cannot move around them so the colour is seen by a clever use of a mirror that makes the piece appear doubly as large and full of illusionist colour.
The corten steel are particularly suited to large format outdoor pieces as it is a medium meant to rust making for a changing patina that may be arrested as desired. The first major commission was the ?Tree of Life? at the Holocaust Museum in Israel.
Zadok Ben-David was born in Bayhan, Yemen in 1949 and immigrated to Israel in the same year. He graduated in advanced sculpture from St. Martins school of art in London and taught at the same institution from 1977-82. He is the recipient of numerous awards in the UK and Israel. Ben-David divides his time between his massive London studio and Tel Aviv. Recent Awards include Grande Premio at the XIV BIiennial Internacional de Arte de Vila Nova de Cerveira Portugal 2007 and the Tel Aviv Museum prize for sculpture 2005. He also has been commissioned to make a sculpture for the Bejing Olympics. In addition to the above, notable solo exhibitions at Annandale Galleries 1991, 1997 (Evolution and Theory), 2004 (Magical Reality, Innerscapes) and Luba Bilu Gallery Melbourne in 1989. This is his fifth visit to Australia since 1989.
world of ?magical reality?.
The monumental ?Blackfield? installation, the centerpiece of this exhibition is made up of nearly five thousand flowers and plant sculptures no more than a few inches in height. The individual sculptures that make up Blackfield are black on the front and hand painted in colour on the reverse so as we circle it the work, gradually and miraculously, comes ablaze with colour. The eye is continually surprised and may not rest for any length of time in a single place. Even a blink, never mind physically moving and changing one?s perspective, confronts us with an entirely new viewpoint, both similar and utterly different to what one has encountered a few seconds before. The images are on a scale akin to Mughal miniatures and individually appear impossibly fragile. When confronted by such a massive installation it is hard not to rub one?s eyes in wonder. How is something so substantial, so big, made from elements that are so small ? even ephemeral.
The Perspex Glass Boxes are random groupings of the flowers ? segments of the overall installation, encompassing the larger installation in a smaller format. One cannot move around them so the colour is seen by a clever use of a mirror that makes the piece appear doubly as large and full of illusionist colour.
The corten steel are particularly suited to large format outdoor pieces as it is a medium meant to rust making for a changing patina that may be arrested as desired. The first major commission was the ?Tree of Life? at the Holocaust Museum in Israel.
Zadok Ben-David was born in Bayhan, Yemen in 1949 and immigrated to Israel in the same year. He graduated in advanced sculpture from St. Martins school of art in London and taught at the same institution from 1977-82. He is the recipient of numerous awards in the UK and Israel. Ben-David divides his time between his massive London studio and Tel Aviv. Recent Awards include Grande Premio at the XIV BIiennial Internacional de Arte de Vila Nova de Cerveira Portugal 2007 and the Tel Aviv Museum prize for sculpture 2005. He also has been commissioned to make a sculpture for the Bejing Olympics. In addition to the above, notable solo exhibitions at Annandale Galleries 1991, 1997 (Evolution and Theory), 2004 (Magical Reality, Innerscapes) and Luba Bilu Gallery Melbourne in 1989. This is his fifth visit to Australia since 1989.