Dedi Ben-Shaul - Works, 2000-2005, Dec. 17th 2005 until January 14th, 2006
Israeli Art, Yemin Moshe, Jerusalem
Dedi Ben-Shaul, a Jerusalem-born painter, who is deeply rooted in the local scenes, lives in Jerusalem and paints Jerusalem.
He studied painting in Paris, where he acquired and absorbed artistic values which he has internalized, and which he later implemented in his own works.
For years, Ben-Shaul taught in 'Bezalel'. His works were presented in numerous exhibits in Israel and abroad, including his own exhibit in the Museum of New Art in Haifa, and in the Helena Rubinstein Hall of the Tel Aviv Museum. The current exhibit presents Ben-Shaul's works of the years 2000-2005. Besides the two self-portraits, the majority of the paintings are of scenery.
The act of sitting outdoors is an experience of seclusion on the one hand and immersion with nature, on the other hand.
The paintings consequently are a product of momentary experience, the reflection of a microcosm of the reality which unveils before the artist and which represents his own personal interpretation. Ben-Shaul's paintings are spontaneous, full of expression and emotion, and constitute a synthesis between his own self and the reality surrounding him. According to Ben-Shaul, his paintings contain 'mistakes', but he claims to "like these mistakes. They enable one to introduce new elements into the scenery, personal elements which turn it into the creation of a new piece of landscape". Ben-Shaul goes out to paint almost every day. He goes to the same places and paints the same scenery, and despite this no one painting is identical to another. According to Ben-Shaul "those who live in Jerusalem live in an auditorium- a mountainous city with many terraces…landscape above landscape, with endless panoramas. A difficult city…with a rocky ground and pine trees…stones, desert, faded trees covered in dust…"
In order to paint, Ben-Shaul creates "a window inside the scenery. A window beyond which nothing is seen" and the part of the landscape which is captured in the painting seems random. It appears that the painter refrains from including too much detail in his paintings. Coarseness of the shapes can be detected, an effect which is achieved by means of abrupt paint brush strokes as well as the use of short, dotted lines in different directions, points and spots, which all become unified in the eyes of the observer. The white paper constitutes part of the painting and in fact plays a significant role in it.
The scenery in the paintings is panoramic, with highs and lows, rocks, vegetation and houses. In some paintings the houses bend sideways in a somewhat distorted manner, thus achieving an expressionistic effect. According to Ben-Shaul: "The city of Jerusalem, the more it is built, the more one cuts through its mountains and valleys…it retains its eternal desert-like nature – which breaks up its landscape into cubes, surprising angles and jumbled chunks that are broken under the sunlight." Nevertheless, landscape for Ben-Shaul serves only as the departure point from which he expresses his personal emotions and the effect of weather on the colors and light in his painting.
Ella Klier Ariel
Dedi Ben-Shaul's Gallery... |  |