Life Lines

Group exhibition: Ruth Orr, Sarit Achtenberg, Michal Blayer and Safa Kadah

Curator: Shlomit Liver

11 July 2024 - 10 August 2024

Life Lines

Group exhibition: Ruth Orr, Sarit Achtenberg, Michal Blayer and Safa Kadah
Curator: Shlomit Liver

The group exhibition "Life Lines" deals with intergenerational transmission. The artists Ruth Orr, Sarit Achtenberg, Michal Blayer and Safa Kadah present works in a variety of mediums, including video, sculpture, drawing and textile. The artists examine their family heritage, from a personal perspective and in a broader and symbolic context. They search for images and materials that bring back to life the past that is embedded in them, through their own bodies and through the actions they take. 

In their sculptural installations (Orr and Blayer) and video works (Achtenberg and Kadah), the artists examine the way in which childhood memories and the cultural environment in which they grew up are inseparably intertwined in the "here and now". In pursuit after significance in their lives, the artists explore how the past resonates in the present. Although the perspective through which they view the past, family and heritage is sometimes ambivalent or even defiant, it becomes clear again and again that the act of resistance only serves to confirm the dominance of these themes.

The arrangement of the works in the gallery space weaves a path where the visitor must move forward and backwards. Many of the works are semi-transparent or enable the viewer to glimpse what is behind them through slits. The way in which the works are hung emphasizes  how the present always simultaneously encompasses both the past and the future. In order for us to be able to live in freedom, we must confront the baggage we inherited and deal with it.

About the artists and curator
Ruth Orr
Lives and works in Kibbutz Ramat HaKovsh. Member of the cooperative gallery "Nolobaz". Works in sculpture and drawing. MFA Haifa University (2021), BA Art Seminary, Beit Berel (2003).  Presented solo exhibitions, including "Untitled Painting" at the Noga Gallery, "Days of Week" at the Ramat Gan Museum, "Talkid" at the Rishon Lezion Municipal Gallery, and more. Participated in group exhibitions, including "Young Israeli Art", Bremen, Germany, "Beyond the Page", Beit Ticho, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, "On The Edge, Israeli Paper", MUZA Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv.

Sarit Achtenberg
Lives and works in Tel Aviv. Works in painting, drawing and video. MFA Haifa University (2021), Continuing Studies Program in Art "The Fifth Year" Kalisher, Tel Aviv (2004), Art Student League Academy NY (2001). Member of the "Benyamin" cooperative gallery. Presented in solo and group exhibitions, among others, at the Ramat Gan Museum, the Holon Design Museum, the Artists' Workshops in Tel Aviv, the Tel Aviv Artists' House, Mahaniim Gallery, Ein Hod Art Gallery, Binyamin Gallery and more. Her works are in the collection of Bank Leumi, the collection of Haifa University and private collections.

 Michal Blayer
Lives and works  in the Galilee district. Multidisciplinary artist. Focuses on installation, sculpture in varying materials and watercolor painting. Holds an MFA from Haifa University (2021), and a BA in Art and Education from Oranim College (2014). Member of the "Benyamin" cooperative gallery. Presented solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums such as Ramat Gan Museum, Haifa Museum, Hanina Gallery, Beta Gallery, and more. Won awards and grants including the "Fund for Independent Creators" grant of the Ministry of Culture (2023) and the "Promising Young Artist" award of the Ministry of Culture and Sports (2014).

 Safa Kadah
Lives and works in Kefar Manda. Multidisciplinary artist, creates video art, installation and sculpture in various materials, mainly textiles.  Holds an MFA with honors (2021), and a BFA with honors, both from Haifa University (2018). Presented in group exhibitions, among them at Beit Hagafen, the Haifa University Library, the Edmond de Rothschild Center, Under the Lantern Festival, Epos Festival, and more. Participated in research and residency programs at Beit Hagafen, and at Umm El Fahm.

Curator - Shlomit Liver
Lives and works in Tel Aviv. Multidisciplinary artist and curator, member of the "Benyamin" cooperative gallery. Holds an MFA with honors from Haifa University (2010), graduated from the Midrashah Art School, Beit Berel (1996).  Since 2015 she has curated many solo and group exhibitions.

Bein Hashmashot: Between Night and Day;
End – Edge – Addendum.

Today’s times are characterized by a sense of urgency which can lead to one-dimensionality, yet also invites a complex, “multi-focal” analysis. One cannot discuss the present without considering the past and building the future. 

End: There is a sense that the imminent end is lingering in the air, boundaries have been crossed, the world order has been upended, and doubt has now been cast on assumptions that were once axioms. That which was once taken for granted is no longer certain. What is good and what is bad? How can one distinguish between the two? The word “end” signifies the finishing part, the point where the thing ceases to exist. 

Threshold: The threshold is a gate, an opening one must pass through in the struggle to restore meaning, decorum, and standards. In order to recover, one must consent to sojourn in threshold spaces, in destruction and uncertainty. One must agree to touch upon loss, compromise, and change. One must push up against the edges and taste the ashes.

Addendum: Lingering within a sense of destruction, anxiety, and horror enables, in the end, hope to sprout. From wallowing in the depths, the cracked and broken areas, and from disease, separation, loss, and collapsed systems, a seed sprouts, breathing new life into the consciousness and the body and helping to identify the strength embodied within them.