Hillel Roman

Hillel Roman is an artist and a senior lecturer at the Midrasha, The Faculty of Arts at Beit Berel College.

Roman graduated with a bachelor’s degree with honors in literature from Tel Aviv University and has an MFA in visual arts from Goldsmiths College London. In his works, Roman deals with various aspects of the relationship between the political and the visual order, and focuses his work on large-scale charcoal drawings and participatory public installations.

His works are in major collections, including the Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum, Petah Tikva Museum, Haaretz collection, Discount Bank and more. Roman received many prizes and scholarships, including the Encouragement of Creativity Award, the Young Artist Award, Mifal Hapais Grant, a residency at the CITE INTERNATIONAL DES ART Paris, the Rabinowitz Foundation, ASSYLUM arts and more.

Roman exhibited in many exhibitions in Israel and abroad, in major galleries and museums, including Tel Aviv Museum, Herzliya Museum, Haifa Museum, Petah Tikva Museum, Bat Yam Museum, Dvir Gallery, Sommer Gallery, Hazi-Cohen and more.

Works

Observatory

2009, A fully functional hand-built astronomical observatory and 8” Newtonian telescope

Roman hand built the observatory according to instructions he found on amateur astronomer forums, the public was invited to watch the stars, one viewer at a time.

Installation view, Herzliya Biennial

Drone Miner

2018, audio installation

This installation comprises a hand-made crypto-currency mining rig that synthesizes its hash rates (~mining speed) into meditative sound waves. Visitors were invited to lie on the bed and listen to the relaxing sound of money flowing into Roman’s wallet. Installation view at Hansen House Gallery: Cryptocurrency miner, two beds and synthesized sound

Imaginative Power

2014, installation

The installation is made up of an enlargement of Lyonel Feininger’s woodcut for the Bauhaus manifesto, redone in charcoal, and a rear projection device that Roman designed with the influence of the Soviet Constructivist Gustav Klutsis. The projection is of a CGI video of spheres revolving inside a transparent hexagon, obeying strict physical rules.

High House

2020

Roman created a treetop platform, which allowed passersby to climb up for a peaceful tree top stay. It was used for resting, kissing, staring, singing, protesting, drinking, meditating, smoking, and breathing by the general public for several months.

It was located on Rothschild blvd. Tel Aviv.

None but One

2022, installation

– Two charcoal drawings and computer-controlled wind chimes responding to wind speed measured continuously at Roman’s home in Ramat Gan

It was exhibited at Sapir College.

A Prerequisite course in Life Science

2021, installation

As a part of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art residency program, Roman took an introductory university course in chemistry, sitting in the museum and studying for several weeks. The work is both a personal investigation of his interests, as well as an investigation of the borders between life and art, art and science, creation and absorption, and perhaps most importantly – the function of museums.