BEZALEL ON TOUR OPENS IN NEW YORK
Traveling Exhibition to Coincide with International Contemporary Furniture Fair & NYCxDESIGN
On view: May 18-22, 2013, 10AM-6PM
Jerusalem, Israel – This spring, Bezalel Academy’s traveling exhibition, Bezalel on Tour, will stop in New York and will be on view May 18-22 at G91 Loft in Soho, as part of the citywide event NYCxDESIGN and ICFF. The exhibition will showcase an extensive and diverse range of work from the past five years by recent alumni and emerging artists of Bezalel, the first cultural institution of Israel and one of the most important art and design academies in the world.
Curated by Muli Ben Sasson, head of Bezalel’s department of Ceramics and Glass Design, the exhibition will feature over 100 objects, 2D animation and video installations representing all of Bezalel’s eight undergraduate departments: fine art, photography, fashion & jewelry, industrial design, visual communications, architecture, screen based arts, ceramics & glass, and from Bezalel’s graduate departments in fine art, design and urban design.
“This exhibition offers viewers a unique sense of Bezalel’s flourishing artistic and professional practices, as well as an exceptionally creative, colorful, and talented side of Israel. The opportunity to present Bezalel on Tour as it coincides with other prestigious design events in New York, places the works in a global context while also emphasizing Bezalel’s commitment to quality and innovation,” said Professor Eva Illouz, President of Bezalel.
Bezalel on Tour is based on the format of the successful exhibitions Bezalel has displayed over the past two years in Paris, Berlin, Milan, and London. Beginning in 2012 at the Maryland Institute College of Arts, the exhibition has traveled to Sotheby’s in Chicago, the Maltz Museum for Jewish Heritage in Cleveland, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Granoff Center for the Creative Arts and Brown RISD Hillel in Providence. In New York, the exhibition of Bezalel on Tour will occur as part of NYCxDESIGN, New York City’s first annual event to showcase and promote design, and will also coincide with the 25th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair, North America’s platform for global design.
The exhibition is made possible by the generosity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, the David Berg Foundation, the Russell Berrie Foundation and Friends of Bezalel.
About Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
Established in 1906 by artist Boris Schatz, with the support of the founder of Modern Zionism, Theodor Herzi, Bezalel is Israel’s leading academy of art and design, and one of the most prestigious in the world. As the first cultural institution of Israel, it has accumulated a historical depth that no other institution has and plays a major role in shaping the cultural identity of Israel.
The Bezalel experience is characterized by an interaction of tradition and ancient techniques with ever-changing, cutting-edge technologies across a broad and multi-faceted scope of artistic disciplines. Both the faculty and the student body are driven by a passion to create and by the meticulous attention to quality. These cornerstones, plus the Academy’s commitment to fostering creativity and opportunity amongst all communities in Israel, have positioned Bezalel at the center of Israel’s creative and artistic scene.
For more information about Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design visit: bezalel.ac.il
Images Courtesy of Bezalel Academy