NORDART 2023
To the Exhibition website
Ben Ami's drawings are an examination of 'the depth of the paper and shades of black'. There is a paradox between the media he uses – paper, so fragile and transient – and the potency of heavy charcoal layers, underlining the seriousness of his themes. He treats his large drawings as paintings, exploring eternal themes of life and death, beauty and the void. "Ben Ami's artworks contain material and non-material existence simultaneously. Painting is a space in which signs of life gradually appear and melt away. Ben Ami chooses to work with very vulnerable paper which he perforates, punctures and covers with layers of charcoal until it erases. He obtains a fine line reminiscent of etching." (from Shir Meller-Yamaguchi) The "Wall" reflects the ruins of a concrete wall in the aftermath of a devastating explosion, becoming an allegory of illusion – a stronghold which proved to be fragile and spurious.
*1956, Israel. Studied at the Royal Academy of Arts. He lives and works in Tel Aviv
