Correspondences

October 26, 2010—December 17, 2010

Special Opening Reception, Tuesday, October 26, 20:00

Bezalel, Yaffo 23 is pleased to announce the official opening of its new space with a special exhibit “Correspondences” that combines international and local artists.

To celebrate our opening and our location, in what used to be the central telephone directory service, and above the historic post office of Jerusalem, we invited international artists to correspond with local ones creating ten new collaborative works.

We received a large number of instructions and matched the most intriguing ones with local artists who translated, performed and realized the work. The pieces are therefore all collaborative–the product of dialogue and correspondences. Some works are performative and include a set of activities that will be carried out in the space at the opening night and throughout the duration of the exhibition. Others are sculptural installations, video works, and even a facility for growing plants.

Correspondences explores the possibilities of communication and exchange in art. The works extend geographically and temporally and draw upon diverse sources reflecting on the current state of the global economy, social networks, and intimate relations among partners. Following the avant guard tradition of “art by instruction” and “mail art” this project explores the possibility of risk, accidents and loss of control, playing with the notion that the artist today is no longer an independent, solitary agent but an interpreter and cultural translator.

The participating artists include: Ofri Cnaani, Pablo Fernandez Zapata, Jonathon Keats, Etti Abergel, Colin Champsaur, Lindsay Lawson, Yaarah Cohen, Maayan Strauss, Aviv Schecori, Ronny Carny, Leigh Orpaz, Nir Harel, Tchelet Ram, Andrew De Freitas, Maya Muchawsky Parnas, and Maayan Elyakim.