Two tables, PVC shrink capsules, wax, cellulose extraction thimbles, glass flasks, corks, wine, glass lenses, light boxes, dimensions variable.

Guy Goldstein’s recent work has advanced through a material process of re-purposing components from factory production to convey systems of abstract concepts. Concerned with both modernist technologies and the possibilities within more imaginative systems of logic, Goldstein’s works inhabit a world entirely of his own making. Spread out on surfaces that resemble a studio worktable, his assemblages build networks and associations through color, shape, and form. Grapes have been cultivated in the region of Israel for thousands of years to make wine, a drink recognized for its complexity in cultivation and taste, used both for marking moments of celebration and victory as well as religious practices. In Vintage 2023, 2023, Goldstein presents two tables with elements from wine production, bottling, and chemical laboratories, combined together into a layered and coded “game” system. One table presents structures similar to a visual code, recalling spaces of masculinity via the multi-colored medals awarded for special recognition of military participation, or the stripes of phallic missiles and towers. The other table explores the complexity of wine and its chemical composition as well as the ritual reverence of life-blood. Laboratory-like glass containers of wine are intertwined and sealed with corks imprinted with clusters of grapes, a reminder of the Biblical story of spies returning to report on the fruitfulness of the land, while expressing a warning of the entanglements presented by its many inhabitants.

Clay, plaster, paper, soot, string, cardboard, dimensions variable.

Dan Stockholm works with archeology through research and field work, generating “performative works” linking the distant past to the present moment through his own physicality and contact with natural materials during the process of creation. Through research shared by the University of Haifa, Department of Archeology, Stockholm became interested in Raqefet Cave, located in Israel’s Carmel Mountains, and visited by the Natufians during the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras. Raqefet Cave is the earliest known site of alcohol fermentation, circa 13,000 years ago. Wild barley grains were gathered into vessels carved in the cave’s bedrock, and brewed with water and wild yeast, to create a beer-like substance, theorized to have been used in the ritual practice of the Natufians, a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer people, predating settlement and agriculture. Referred to archeologically as “mortars” and “cups,” the fermentation vessels are groupings of holes situated in the cave floor. In Untitled, 2023, Stockholm’s handmade vessels parallel universal human scale, revealed by archeological data from 3-D scans showing the largest Natufian fermentation vessels to be the depth of an arm’s reach. Additionally, an abstract paper work uses delicate soot markings from smoke to reference the conditions in the cave, perhaps recalling the transcendent state of consciousness arising from the ritual imbibement of fermented barley. As such, he metaphorically transcends temporal and spacial confines, bringing forth new work into the present.

Courtesy the artist and 2112, Copenhagen

Granite, bronze, sound, dimensions variable.

Relli De Vries investigates the inaccuracies of weight and measurement, taken for granted in their certitude, despite the never-ending fluidity of technological refinement and the temporality of knowledge. Reflecting her interest in both the fundamental and manmade forces that shape our world, De Vries works with materials found in nature, together with physical tools. Her creation of “apparatus devices” express the mysteries of what is impossible to quantify solely through logic, often in a poetic and philosophical manner. The pomegranate is a complex fruit that represents wisdom and knowledge. For De Vries, the pomegranate’s many seeds forming one fruit is an analogy to the many different peoples dwelling together in the land of Israel. Similarly, granite is formed through the compression of many types of rock to form a solid mass. In Pomegranate, 2023, De Vries has made a metaphysical scale, comprised of two carved pink granite pomegranates affixed to a bronze ruler and compass, with tendrils of hanging bronze “jewelry.” Granite rock footsteps are connected together by a delicate trailing chain. The weight of those sunken steps is a pilgrimage that is impossible to walk with an unreachable destination. Through a further ceremony of sound, De Vries performs an etymological summoning, calling forth the pomegranate in pronunciations from languages that borrow and share sounds through linguistic transmission, reflecting a multiplicity of voices in their oneness.

Bronze, iron, dimensions variable.

Ella Littwitz is concerned with the fluctuating lines of demarcation forming historical borders and territories within the landscape, as an attempt to contain nature and the movement of people. Unstable and shifting throughout time, these areas are often claimed by differing groups, as they form national narratives of identity and at times, arouse dispute. The fig, from 11,400 years ago, is among the earliest known domesticated plants. According to contemporary archeobotanic academic research, its domestication is an indicator of the shift from hunter-gatherer life to agriculture and settlement. Research on carbonized figs found in Gilgal near Jericho discovered an early form of cultivation that involved cuttings of fig branches planted directly into the earth. The planted fig branches, similar to placing a stake in the ground, are related to an early form of claiming land. Littwitz’s Tzadik V’Ra Lo (The Righteous Suffer), 2023, is a life-size cast bronze fig branch with one end cut into a sharp point. The black patina references the original carbonized figs found at Gilgal. Elevated upon a spare iron table, the branch serves as a testament to the importance of its role in the development of agriculture while also being revered as an icon of the age of human settlement upon the land.

Courtesy the artist; Harlan Levey Projects (HLP), Brussels; Copperfield, London; and alexander levy, Berlin

C-print, 120 x 150 cm, framed.

Tal Shochat’s images conjure situations wherein narratives rooted in magic realism play a central role, evoking a sense of mystery and wonder. Family members and their intertwined relationships appear frequently, and Shochat’s own presence is often depicted or implied––either in the image or behind the camera. Her carefully staged encounters featuring vivid imagery and extraordinary circumstances imbued with a sense of naturalness, wherein themes of identity, intimacy, and continuity emerge. One of the most important ancient grains, wheat, represents sustenance, fertility, and abundance; its golden color is also associated with wealth and richness. A field of wheat just before harvest may also relate to the reminder of the passage of time and the inevitability of change in the cycle of life. In My Homeland, 2023, Shochat’s mother as muse, appears crowned and seated on a throne-like chair, as ‘Queen of the Wheat’, recalling a mythic Harvest Queen presiding over a landscape of a ripe wheat field. Shochat, positioned behind her mother while slightly shadowing a bright white backdrop, manifests as a sensual nude with her back gracefully turned to us. Ethereal in her humanity, she is dually author and subject. This tableau reveals the generational thread that runs between a mother and daughter, and their abiding connection over time, unbroken yet at a moment when both are poised at the precipice of imminent transformation.

Courtesy the artist and Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv.