Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Solo Show Opens at Ha Midrasha School of Art


I'm pleased to announce the opening of my first Israeli solo show, "Tel Aviv 2008-2010" at Ha Midrasha School of Art's Photography Gallery. The show will run from October 21 to November 21, and is comprised of 22 silver gelatin 8x10 contact prints selected from my "Tel Aviv at 100" project by curator Noa Ben Shalom.

Here's a translation of the curator's text for the show:

"Tel Aviv 2008-2010"

Gabriel Benaim

By Noa Ben Shalom

“The process of a city’s physical construction is embedded in its process of cultural structuring. Controlling this cultural structuring process of the space is perhaps deeper and more effective than any political government or party platform, because the hegemony, in contrast to all the visible configurations of government, is present in everything but also invisible to the eye-it hides behind the ’common sense’ of both rulers and ruled, their accepted opinions, what they take for granted, what they find inconceivable, their stories- and ultimately it constructs what we call ‘the normal’.

Similarly to how Peepers’ Beach (Hof Metzitzim) came to be so named after the movie that was made about it, sometimes a city can change just from the fact that it’s looked at differently, that its story is told differently.”

Sharon Rotbard, from White City, Black City

Gabriel Benaim doesn’t have an agenda to change the city of Tel Aviv. The motivating force that drives him to go out to photograph and explore is essentially visual: “For me, the visual is primary, and I expect any work of art, especially my own, to stand on its own visually, without recourse to an intellectual or even conceptual scheme… The act of framing transposes a commonplace object into a work of art, if done successfully, and this transposition is for me the point of photographing. This, then, to come without preconceptions and leave with a new way of seeing something old, summarizes my approach to photography” G. Benaim

At the same time, his photographs narrate his process of getting to know the city, and propose-both in his choice of format ( a large format 8x10 camera which makes possible careful observation on a large frame, while inviting one to work slowly) as well as by his use of black and white film, and certainly in his choice of locations- a different story about a city that enjoys a reputation as a tolerant, cosmopolitan and culturally rich metropolis.


Dates: 21-10-10 til 21-11-10
Hours: Sun-Thurs 8:30-20:00, Fri 10:00-12:30
Phone: 09-747-8730
Email: Photography@beitberl.ac.il
Gallery’s Website: http://www.beitberl.ac.il/academic/art/



Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Recent Shows at Art of Photography and Griffin Museum, and Merit Award in B&W's Portfolio Issue

My work was recently included in a couple of juried shows in the States, as well as featured in Black and White Magazine's Portfolio Issue. Here are all the details, and thanks to everyone who's taken an interest in my work.

"The Art of Photography Show" ,

Lyceum Theater Gallery

August 28 to November 7.

Juried by Natasha Egan, Curator of the Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago.

Honorable Mention for "Hayarkon Park", from "Tel Aviv at 100". You can read an interview with Mrs. Egan here about how she selected 111 images out of a pool of almost 14,000.

The Art of Photography Show
Lyceum Theater Gallery
San Diego,CA.
(619) 825-5575



"16th Juried Group Show",
Griffin Museum of Photography


June 30 to August 29.

Juried by Joerg Colberg, editor of the blog Conscientious.

"The best of contemporary photography amazes us by asking questions, by challenging us, to transform us into different persons," writes Joerg Colberg about the exhibition. "For me, that is the essence of contemporary photography. I am very excited to see the 16th juried exhibition reflect this." Please click here for the press release.

Colberg selected 60 images for the show from more than 2,000 images submitted by 300 photographers. Two images from "Tel Aviv at 100", "Gordon Beach #2" and "Azorei Hen #1" were included.

Griffin Museum of Photography
67 Shore Road
Winchester, MA 01890
(781) 729-1158




Black and White Magazine, Portfolio Issue

Black and White Magazine runs a portfolio contest every year, and the winners are published in a special portfolio issue. My series "Wall Art" received a Merit Award, and selections from it were published as a two-page spread in their 2010 Portfolio Issue. Please click here to see the feature.

Friday, June 25, 2010

Installation Views of "In Review", Gallery 339

For those of you who can't make it to Philly this summer, here are some installation shots of my work in the "In Review" show at Gallery 339, which will be up through September 4.








If you are in the area this summer, here's all the info to get you to the gallery:

Gallery 339
339 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.731.1530
215.735.2839 (fax)
info@gallery339.com
Martin H. McNamara
Principal

HOURS:
Tuesday- Saturday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Show Opening this week at Gallery 339, Philadelphia



I'm very excited about taking part in an upcoming group show at Gallery 339 in Philadelphia. I'll be showing 8 images from my "Tel Aviv at 100" series, in conjunction with 9 other emerging photographers, including Philip Toledano, Kyohei Abe, Isa Leshko, and Joel Lederer. The show opens Friday, June 18, and will run through September 4. Please be sure to stop by if you're in the area.

From the Press Release:

"Over the past six months, Gallery 339 has had the opportunity to participate in a series of portfolio review sessions, which introduced us to the work of many artists from around the world...The work that we saw suggested a dynamic and inventive landscape, where artists are making creative use of new and old technologies and are exploring ideas and subject matter that are both current and substantive. We, of course, are now applying our own filter to present an exhibition, yet our intent is to preserve a sense of the depth and variety that we saw, ranging from Phillip Toledano’s compelling and unsettling explorations of beauty to Isa Leshko’s affecting portraits of older animals to Gabriel Benaim’s layered views of Tel Aviv. Collectively, the works of the ten artists in In Review suggest a medium that is engaged in a lively, complex, and intelligent dialogue about meaningful issues."

Gallery 339
339 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215.731.1530
215.735.2839 (fax)
info@gallery339.com
Martin H. McNamara
Principal

HOURS:
Tuesday- Saturday, 10:00 am-6:00 pm

Friday, April 30, 2010

Solo Show Opens at Walter Keller Gallery



I'm thrilled to announce the opening of my first solo show at the Walter Keller Gallery in Zurich. I've been looking forward to this for some time, so it gives me great pleasure to have my work shown in such a great venue. Here's the press release for the show, and I'll have some installation views coming soon.

GABRIEL BENAIM
TEL AVIV AT 100
An exhibition of photographs
April 29 - June 12, 2010

I am very proud to announce the first exhibition of Israeli photographer Gabriel Benaim(*1969). Choosing his series inspired by the city of Tel Aviv for his first international solo exhibition, Benaim presents us with emotionally intense, rigorously composed images that capture the unique light and fascinating architecture of this “white city by the sea”. The unpretentious simplicity of Benaim’s Tel Aviv images appealed to me from the get go. Somewhat to my own surprise. Why was this? Am I developing a new conservative view on photography, as a consequence of having seen too many fervid large-size C-prints? No. The desire for discovering skillfully composed works, laden both emotionally as well as aesthetically that only the medium of photography can produce, has always been there. I am taken by the alertness, the quiet attention to detail of the images. Strolling, leisurely meandering like a flaneur, Benaim captures this city that was founded 100 years ago. Using a large-format camera, Benaim presents us near perfectly produced silver gelatin contact prints. And this in itself is a breath of fresh air given the current confusion within the production of contemporary photography. Almost like a moment of silence in the midst of a noisy performance, Benaim’s images are calm, unhurried; photographs that pull the brakes on the race that is our urban life.

Walter Keller
For more information, please visit our website or contact the gallery
Walter Keller Gallery
Oberdorfstrasse 2, 8001 Zurich Switzerland, T: +41 (0) 43 268 53 65
info@kellerkunst.com / www.kellerkunst.com / Facebook: Galerie Walter Keller
Thursday & Friday 12 am - 6 pm, Saturday 12 am - 5 pm, Other weekdays by appointment.
For images of the exhibition please visit our website as of April 30.

An artist's talk will take place at the gallery May 24.

Article in Photonews Magazine and Book Launch for Portfolio Showcase at C4FAP



I'm pleased to announce that Photonews Magazine, Germany, has published a selection of my "Tel Aviv at 100" images in their current May issue, together with a short essay by Anna Gripp on my work (in German, will have a translation up shortly).



In other news, a selection of images from my "Tel Aviv at 100" series was included in the Center for Fine Art Photography's Portfolio Showcase Vol. 4. The Showcase includes both an online and a print component, and the launch of the book will take place May 7 at the Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. The juror for the Showcase, Kate Ware of the New Mexico Museum of Fine Arts, wrote in her statement about my work:

"Stepping back from the urban flow, Gabriel Benaim views his city from above, revealing the sinuous lines and muscular patterns that form the armature of life in contemporary Tel Aviv."

I had the pleasure of meeting Ms Ware last month at Fotofest in Houston, and spent some time showing her the actual prints of the work she'd chosen online. It was a real treat to make a personal connection with someone who knew me only through an online submission, and I'll write more about the whole Fotofest experience later this month.