Noam Braslavsky

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Noam Braslavsky (born 1961 in Poriya, Israel) is an Israeli artist and curator. Braslavsky lives and works in Berlin.

Life

In the early 1980s Braslavsky studied at the Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem, subsequently studying at the Beit Zvi Film Academy in Ramat Gan and completing his Master of Fine Arts at the Multimedia Department of the Düsseldorf Art Academy with Nam June Paik/Nan Hoover.

Works

In the 1980s and 90s he made a name for himself with his manipulative, interactive room installations, which he displayed in dark or black rooms (he speaks of “black cubes" in contrast to the usual white cubes). An especially well-known work, "Shelter" (concrete, steel, glass, Plexiglas and sea-shells) from 1992, came to a legendary end when it was set on fire in an act of sabotage years later at his major solo exhibition "Magic as Existential Need" in Tel Aviv; only the steel frame and the concrete pedestals survived.

Braslavsky’s works are traps that take their cues from sacred architecture, nature and society. He analyzes manipulative mechanisms that influence and control the human psyche, translating them in simplified form into rooms. Some examples are artificial wombs, purring machines, compulsive hats, labyrinths and enormous cocoons.

One of his very early works (from 1984), exhibited late and only rarely, but frequently copied, explores the abolishment of space and the dissolution of its boundaries, and can also be seen as a sort of virtual (miniature) stage for his subsequent creative work. "Blue" is a second head, a perceptual fuelling station that supplies nothing but pure blue light, suspending the perception of space for a time while promoting pure vision.

Braslavsky’s oeuvre since the 1980s includes far more than fifty major installations along with video works and actions.

On 21 October 2010, Braslavsky unveiled a life-sized sculpture of former Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, who has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006, in a hospital bed with an IV drip at the Kishon Gallery in Tel Aviv. The exhibition caused some controversy, with Knesset member Yoel Hasson describing the work as "sickening voyeurism" and saying, "I think it's a cheap way for the artist to get attention for his exhibition." ^[1]

Selected exhibitions

• 2010 "Ariel Sharon", Kishon Gallery, Tel Aviv/Israel
• 2010 "Mediators", The National Museum, Warsaw/Poland
• 2009 "n.b.l.", NCCA, Moscow/Russia
• 2008 "European Attitude", Zendai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai/China
• 2008 “The Murakami Collection”, Faust Kunsthalle, Hanover/Deutschland (solo show)
• 2008 "Strictly Berlin - "Between Fiction and Fact", Berlin/Germany
• 2007 "Asia-Europe Mediations", New Synagogue, Poznan/Poland
• 2007 "Strictly Berlin - "Targets of Opportunity", Berlin/Germany
• 2007 "Pathos", Galerie Dieter Reitz, Kassel
• 2007 “The Artist as Readymade”, Berlin
• 2006 "Strictly Berlin 2000-2006", Berlin/Germany
• 2004 "zivilgeneratur", Berlin/Germany
• 2004 Artiade Exhibition Hall, Athens/Greece
• 2003 Central Exhibition Hall, St. Petersburg/Russia
• 2003 "Zufluchträume I-III" in the Tiergarten park, Berlin/Germany (solo show)
• 2002 "The Boundaries of Sculpture", Open Museum, Tefen-Beer Sheva/Israel
• 2000 "Festival of Vision", Hong Kong/China
• 1998 "Magic as Existential Need", Hamumche Art Space, Tel Aviv/Israel (solo show)
• 1996 "The Freedom to Choose", aktions galerie, Berlin/Germany (solo show)
• 1995 "The Treasure of the Baltic Sea", MS Stubnitz, Rostock/Germany (solo show)
• 1993 "Creator of the Worlds", Laznia Art Space, Gdansk/Poland (solo show)
• 1992 "Shelter", Produzentengalerie Düsseldorf/Deutschland (solo show)
• 1989 "Enlightened Darkness", Zman Amiti - Alternative Art Space, Tel Aviv/Israel (solo show)

The Artist is a Curator is an Artist

In 2003 Braslavsky founded GdK (Galerie der Künste) in Berlin, shortly thereafter establishing the eponymous art association together with his wife Emma Braslavsky. Ever since, alongside his artistic activities he has also worked as a curator and artistic director. An overview of his work as a curator can be found on the website of the GdK ([1]) or on the artist's website ([2]).

External links

• USA Today about Braslavskys installation "Ariel Sharon"
• The Telegraph about Braslavskys installation "Ariel Sharon"
• BBC about Braslavskys installation "Ariel Sharon"
• The Independent about Braslavskys installation "Ariel Sharon"
• Braslavsky at NCCA
• Braslavsky in the "Random selection of Israeli video art
• Braslavsky at artfacts.net
• Website of the artist
• Art association GdK e.V.

References