Violence

The theme of violence and its representation in art are at the core of the exhibition cluster opening in January 24, 2009 at the Haifa Museum of Art. The cluster will include two group exhibitions and six solo shows concerned with the various strategies and aesthetic choices employed by artists in order to examine, reflect and resist different aspects of this complex, painful and important subject.

The Israeli and international group exhibition "History of Violence," curated by Hadas Maor, is concerned with artistic representations of violence that do not touch upon specific conflicts, but rather investigate the notion of violence in a more conceptual, philosophical, abstract way. The exhibition will include works by Lida Abdul, Yael Bartana, Tali Ben Bassat, Avner Ben Gal, Gilad Efrat, Mona Hatoum, Michal Heiman, Lea Golda Holterman, Grzegorz Klaman, Sigalit Landau, Ernesto Neto, Chloe Piene, SUPERM - Slava Mogutin and Brian Kenny, Naama Tsabar, Artur Żmijewski.

In conjunction with the Polish Year in Israel 2008-2009, the Haifa Museum of Art will exhibit the group exhibition "Power Games," which features a range of works by both established and young Polish artists. The works included in this exhibition address the theme of violence by using a range of conceptual, symbolic, poetic and narrative approaches. Some of these works are concerned with Poland's historical traumas and with various forms of institutional violence (the church, the communist regime, etc.). Other works address this theme on a universal level related to human nature, rather than to a specific national context. Participating artists include: Hubert Czerepok, Zuzanna Janin, Grzegorz Klaman, Norman Leto, Janek Simon, Artur Zmijewski.

Three solo exhibitions by other Eastern European artists will enrich the cluster of exhibitions with more perspectives on this subject: young Serbian artist Biljana Ðurđević will exhibit large-scale paintings in which violence manifests itself in a grotesque manner that brings together banal and sacred elements. Berlin-based artist Norbert Bisky will show a mini solo show with paintings that deal with the linkage of violence and youth. The Russian art collective AES+F will present Last Riot - a video work in which imagery taken from the language of advertising is transplanted to the arena of war.

Three solo shows featuring Israeli artists will also be included in this cluster: Eddo Stern's work will be exhibited at the Museum's New Media Center; Emanuel (Ami) Faytchevitz and Tal Frank's works will be exhibited as part of the "Adrenalin" series, which features emerging Israeli artists.

Acknowledgements: The exhibition "Power Games" was co-organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Warsaw, as part of the Polish Year in Israel 2008-2009, with the support of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.

Violence

Künstler: Lida Abdul, Yael Bartana, Tali Ben Bassat, Avner Ben-Gal, Gilad Efrat, Mona Hatoum, Michal Heiman, Lea Golda Holterman, Grzegorz Klaman, Sigalit Landau, Ernesto Neto, Chloe Piene, SUPERM  - Slava Mogutin / Brian Kenny, Naama Tsabar, Artur Zmijewski