Throughout her career in Israel, from the 1930s through the 1990s, the artist Hannah Levi (1914– 2006) was held in high esteem among the community of artists, curators, and art critics. Despite this, she was unable to break out beyond the relatively limited public that was aware of her work. Although she regarded landscape painting to be the focus of her artistic endeavor, an impressive body of work that centers on the female figure was found in her estate during the preparation of the current exhibition. The exhibition “My Face” seeks to highlight the female figure in Levi’s work from a contemporary point of view. Levy painted many female figures (some anonymous and some portraits of her friends), including numerous self portraits, all informed by ruthless treatment and bold exploration both of the body of painting and of the female body. Using a variety of materials and techniques – oil-pastels, watercolor, oils, and sand – her work gives expression to intimate, muted contents pertaining to womanhood, undercuts notions of beauty and engages with signs aging. In light of all this, she is revealed not only as an artist who maintains a fresh perspective that is true to herself, but also as a bold individual who dared to swim against the current.
Curator: Ruty Chinsky-Amitay Read more
|
