Art

Reconfigured after October 7, Haifa Biennale uses art to work through trauma and loss

Published

8 months ago

January 25, 2024

Reorganizing an art exhibition during a war is not easy, but it can make the messages all the more clear.

Veteran curators and life partners Belu-Simion Fainaru and Avital Bar-Shay had already planned their Fifth Biennale art exhibition for Haifa, but went back to the drawing board after the events of October 7, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israel’s Gaza border communities, killing some 1,200 people, committing atrocities and abducting hundreds more to Gaza.

(Part of the Biennale was hung in the streets of Istanbul at the end of October, but when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a speech supporting Hamas, the Israeli and Turkish curators removed artists’ names that sounded Israeli and replaced them with each one’s family’s country of origin.)

“We worked quickly,” said Fainaru, a professor at Wizo Haifa, a four-year art school whose gallery-lobby is hosting part of the exhibit.

The reconfigured Biennale is now called “Anybody Home?” and it reflects on what the concept of home feels like right now for Israelis when home is meant to represent shelter, refuge and safety. It questions whether people will have the strength to rebuild the homes they’ve lost in the Gaza border communities or even want to return to the homes they had to evacuate near the northern and southern borders.

The exhibit, which opened January 18, begins in the school’s cafe with Fainaru’s video of evacuees from Kibbutz Karmia, who have been staying in Haifa. They took part in a workshop with him and wrote their wishes on pieces of lined paper.

From a video work with Kibbutz Karmia evacuees, part of the Fifth Mediterranean Biennale and ‘Anybody Home?’ exhibit at Wizo Haifa through March 2024 (Courtesy)

The wishes are modest requests such as “I’d like to go home,” or “Hope my [reservist] son comes home soon” and then the participants were filmed throwing the crumpled wish to the next person, the video edited so that each paper ball was visualized as being caught and opened by the next person in line.

These two curators are big fans of video art, and there are plenty of those in this Biennale.

There is Angelika Sher’s “Last Supper,” a staged photograph of female soldiers eating slices of watermelon, a painful reminder of the surveillance soldiers who were abducted and are still in captivity, their welfare and whereabouts unknown. Sher has several works in the exhibit, most of them featuring female soldiers in uniform, always in dreamlike, unlikely scenarios.

Fainaru’s own contribution is a simple wall clock that looks like part of the school, but this one is set to turn backward, for that wish to go back in time, to October 6.

There are several paintings by Kibbutz Be’eri artist Ziva Jelin — red-stained scenes of Be’eri that were painted well before October 7 and are now pocked by bullet holes after Hamas terrorists shot up her kibbutz gallery on October 7.

The bullet holes “ruin the work,” said Fainaru. “Like the pomegranate. It breaks the balance.”

A work by Kibbutz Be’eri artist Ziva Jelin, part of the Fifth Mediterranean Biennale and ‘Anybody Home?’ exhibit at Wizo Haifa through March 2024 (Courtesy)

Another video work by Shahar Marcus and Nezaket Ekici shows two people buried alive under a pile of coal, while a short film made by AES + F, a group of Russia and New York-based artists, creates a scene of apocalypse or global catastrophe, “which is what it feels like right now,” said Bar-Shay.

An oversized photograph by war photographer Pavel Wohlberg was taken at Nahal Oz, a kibbutz and adjacent army base where more than 60 Israeli soldiers and over a dozen kibbutz residents were killed and others abducted to Gaza.

Wohlberg’s image looks upon the landscape as unlikely scenery, with Gaza in the background and a huge sky up above.

A Wizo Haifa student sits under Pavel Wohlberg’s work ‘Nahal Oz,’ exhibited in the Fifth Mediterranean Biennale and ‘Anybody Home?’ exhibit at Wizo Haifa through March 2024 (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

There were more than a few complications in putting this Biennale together, with endless questions and concerns from the Wizo administration about how the school’s Arab students — some 50% of the student population is Arab — would view the exhibit, particularly the works featuring soldiers in uniform.

The curators had to get the school to open its doors so they could organize the exhibit, when the start of the school year was delayed due to the war. Meanwhile, they had sleepless nights as they worried about their son performing reserve duty in the north.

The son of a Wizo staff member was badly injured in Gaza at the start of the war, and a Wizo student, Inbar Haiman, was initially considered a hostage and then declared killed by Hamas several weeks later.

“We thought she’d come home,” said Fainaru. Her boyfriend, Noam Alon, is in his fourth year at Wizo and when he arrived back at school and saw a photo of her, he asked the school to take it down.

Fainaru said some of his Wizo students come to class during days off from reserve duty toting their guns, which they lay across their desks. Meanwhile, some of their fellow Arab students are pro-Hamas, he said.

The exhibit continues in several public locations in the nearby German Colony neighborhood of Haifa, with video installations in cafes, beauty salons and a local mall, among other spots. The Biennale website includes a walking map for the locations of the neighborhood installations.

The curators, though they are lovers of arcane messaging, finish the exhibit with one easy-to-read work by Fainaru, a familiar white rectangular lit-up number sign of the sort used on apartment buildings, this one printed with “yihiye tov” (“Everything is going to be alright”).

“People like that,” said Fainaru.

In glass and wax

Deborah Dworman Sullum holds one of her beeswax cast molds of a soldier, part of her ‘Shema Yisrael – The Fallen’ artwork at the Haifa Artists’ House (Jessica Steinberg/Times of Israel)

A short walk away from Wizo Haifa is “Who By Fire,” a one-gallery exhibit in the nearby Haifa Artists’ House that also marks mourning and loss by artist Deborah Dworman Sullum.

Sullum brought together glass works marking her own mourning over an adult nephew’s sudden death in a recent plane crash with glass works to mark each of the hostages still in Gaza.

The focus of the exhibit is “Shema Yisrael, The Fallen,” a collection of casted beeswax figurines cast by Sullum for each of the soldiers killed since the war in Gaza began.

Sullum was mourning her nephew and her sister’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis in a series of window and glass-layered portraits, when the attacks of October 7 occurred, leading her to think about how it all connected for her.

A long-time devotee of flea markets, including Haifa’s daily flea market, Sullum happened upon a 1964 Ken doll during one of her wanderings and used it to create a mold of a soldier, from which she shapes beeswax figurines of the soldiers.

She adds new ones nearly every day to the rows carefully laid out on a sheet of burlap placed on the gallery floor.

“Who By Fire” will be open through January 26.

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Art

Calvin Lucyshyn: Vancouver Island Art Dealer Faces Fraud Charges After Police Seize Millions in Artwork

Published

13 hours ago

September 13, 2024

Harry Miller

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.

Alleged Fraud Scheme

Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.

Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.

Massive Seizure of Artworks

In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.

Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.

Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed

In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.

Court Proceedings Ongoing

The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.

Impact on the Local Art Community

The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.

For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.

As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.

While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.

Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.

As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.

Art

Ukrainian sells art in Essex while stuck in a warzone – BBC.com

Published

2 weeks ago

September 2, 2024

Harry Miller

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Ukrainian sells art in Essex while stuck in a warzone BBC.com

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Art

Somerset House Fire: Courtauld Gallery Reopens, Rest of Landmark Closed

Published

4 weeks ago

August 18, 2024

Harry Miller

The Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House has reopened its doors to the public after a fire swept through the historic building in central London. While the gallery has resumed operations, the rest of the iconic site remains closed “until further notice.”

On Saturday, approximately 125 firefighters were called to the scene to battle the blaze, which sent smoke billowing across the city. Fortunately, the fire occurred in a part of the building not housing valuable artworks, and no injuries were reported. Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Despite the disruption, art lovers queued outside the gallery before it reopened at 10:00 BST on Sunday. One visitor expressed his relief, saying, “I was sad to see the fire, but I’m relieved the art is safe.”

The Clark family, visiting London from Washington state, USA, had a unique perspective on the incident. While sightseeing on the London Eye, they watched as firefighters tackled the flames. Paul Clark, accompanied by his wife Jiorgia and their four children, shared their concern for the safety of the artwork inside Somerset House. “It was sad to see,” Mr. Clark told the BBC. As a fan of Vincent Van Gogh, he was particularly relieved to learn that the painter’s famous Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear had not been affected by the fire.

Blaze in the West Wing

The fire broke out around midday on Saturday in the west wing of Somerset House, a section of the building primarily used for offices and storage. Jonathan Reekie, director of Somerset House Trust, assured the public that “no valuable artefacts or artworks” were located in that part of the building. By Sunday, fire engines were still stationed outside as investigations into the fire’s origin continued.

About Somerset House

Located on the Strand in central London, Somerset House is a prominent arts venue with a rich history dating back to the Georgian era. Built on the site of a former Tudor palace, the complex is known for its iconic courtyard and is home to the Courtauld Gallery. The gallery houses a prestigious collection from the Samuel Courtauld Trust, showcasing masterpieces from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. Among the notable works are pieces by impressionist legends such as Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, and Vincent Van Gogh.

Somerset House regularly hosts cultural exhibitions and public events, including its popular winter ice skating sessions in the courtyard. However, for now, the venue remains partially closed as authorities ensure the safety of the site following the fire.

Art lovers and the Somerset House community can take solace in knowing that the invaluable collection remains unharmed, and the Courtauld Gallery continues to welcome visitors, offering a reprieve amid the disruption.

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