Art and Social Activism Festival

New York NY

September 26 - October 20, 2019

Art and Social Activism Festival, 26 September - 20 October, 2019

Rotem Reshef will debut "Scroll of Perseverance", a new painting-installation at the “Art and Social Activism Festival”, taking place in New York from September 26 to October 20, 2019.

Reshef will present a rotating installation, in which a large scroll of painting will be hanging on the wall, and will be changed every few days revealing new parts of the canvas, concealing others that have been presented previously. This dynamic installation will strive to intrigue the viewers to come every week (a total of four weeks) and see a new section of the artwork, while alluding to their previous recollection of what the painting looks like when they had seen in last. 

"Golden Brown", 2017 and "Scroll of Perseverance" 2018, Art and Social Activism Festival

This site-specific creation engages with the theme of “Art and Social Activism”, by referring to climate change and global warming, and by reminding the temporality of nature. The rotating composition of the painting-installation alludes to our possibilities and options to try and control different aspects of nature, and especially by trying to “reverse” the damages caused to it, exemplifying our options for recreation, and encouraging continuously new cycles of growth and emergence of life.

Art and Social Activism amplifies the voices of socially engaged artists, makers, and designers through festivals, spotlight projects, and a monthly zine.

Festival Dates: September 26 to October 20, 2019 Public Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 7:00pm Location: 32 Orchard St. New York City

For more details about “Art and Social Activism Festival”, click HERE.

Eden in Two Acts - Act I

Outdoor Mural, Artists House, Tel Aviv

August 1, 2019 - November 16, 2019

Eden in Two Acts - Act I, 2019, outdoor mural, 236x689in | 6x17.5m

Rotem Reshef’s new outdoor mural fronting the Artists’ House in Tel Aviv, Eden in Two Acts, seeks to amalgamate the platform of public space with the occasion of the upcoming elections, as a form of visual activism that aims to cause a butterfly effect and reverberate beyond the bounds of the art world.

The two paintings, which will be displayed one after the other in the next few months, are the first reveal of a monumental new art installation on which I have worked for the past two years – Eden (Chapters in the History of the Yishuv*). This project— the artist’s most political and narrative-driven to date—consists of six scrolls of canvas, encompassing some 140 meters of painting. The installation conceptually discloses elements from the development of Israeli society, specifically in relation to the land and its inhabitation. Through artistic and emotional means, both implicit and abstract, it presents the journey and process we underwent prior to and following the establishment of the state, up until the present day. We have grown much since then – from an ideological but perhaps somewhat naïve love of the land; a space that was not a country but an object of desire; a sparse, airy area exposed to blinding light – into a beautiful, highly developed albeit chaotic world, whirling around itself in all its complexities.

Eden in Two Acts probes the gap between the state’s current circumstances of existence and its founders’ heartfelt ideological aspirations. Is Israel becoming increasingly more removed from that presumable Garden of Eden as a model society and a “Light unto the Nations”? Or is it perhaps coming around full circle and approaching that status? Did the state in fact ever promise to be a paradise for its residents and citizens, or are we actually angels ministering in its service?

Eden in Two Acts - Part I, Artists House, Tel Aviv

The two titular “acts” of the piece refer to three aspects – the act as an internal political battle over the country’s character; the act in its theatrical context, allowing us to “re-play” events in a way that might evolve differently; and finally the act in relation to the artwork’s place in the public space, spread across the flat wall and yet creating scenery and a deep, multilayered inner world, which passersby are invited to enter.

The first act opens up to present what appears to be two polar opposites. One pole consists of two muddy, bleeding crimson stains: dominant presences looming on either side of the composition. The other pole is a bluish-green sheaf of palm fronds stretching between the two stains, seeming to emerge out of their grim violence. The extremities are domineering and threatening, but in their midst beats a verdant heart that has not yet wasted away, symbolizing growth and optimism.

This image of Eden attempts to echo the constant public storms that we as a society have trouble confronting; the repression and normalization in the face of the wars of survival we diligently nurture; and the individual difficulties and endless hope for peace and quiet. It tries to remind viewers how the state currently conducts itself, the rise of greed, selfishness, incitement and corruption; while also reminding them that blossoming and happiness can exist without the shadow of perennial danger and spreading hatred. The “writing on the wall” encourages the possibility of diluting the moral stain – which is focused on crushing the present rather than providing inspiration for the future – and removing it from our lives.

Dreamin' of a...

Group exhibition, Charlie James Gallery, Downtown LA

Curator: Sagi Refael

"Dreamin' of a...", Rotem Reshef, diptych from "Spectrum" series, Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles

Charlie James Gallery is pleased to present “Dreamin’ of a…”, a group exhibition conceived by Los Angeles-based art historian and curator Sagi Refael, featuring work by Adar Aviam, Mara De Luca, Rafa Esparza, Robert Ginder, Renée Lotenero, John Knuth, Marisa Mandler, David O’Brien, Rotem Reshef, Glen Wilson, Nathan Zeidman and Barak Zemer.

"Dreamin' of a...", 2019, Charlie James Gallery LA, installation view

The show originated as a tribute to LA’s landscape, as seen and experienced by walking the streets and using public transportation, and as an antithesis to the glamorous cinematic and televised images of the “City of Angels”, marketed by Hollywood’s studios.

LA is a place where iconic legacy is confronted on a daily basis with reality. It might be enough to think of the contradiction between the ‘Hollywood’ Sign, adorning the sprawling hills in which the rich and famous reside, looking from above at the urban jungle of survival, and the homeless people who are thrown within a gaze from that ultimate status symbol and tourist destination, marking the two polars most of us are hustling in-between.

"Dreamin' of a...", John Knuth, Charlie James Gallery, LA

Dreamin’ of a… takes its title from John Knuth’s piece from 2018, a myler sewn landscape composed on a sign bought from a homeless person the artist has encountered. It encapsulates LA as a microcosmos of the American dream and its pursuers, a clash between capitalism, consumerism and poverty, and symbolizes the role of creativity and inspiration as means to obtain a further step up the hierarchical ladder of class.

This specific gathering of artworks in various media obtains some elements of a “Gesamtkunstwerk”, aiming to present a multifaceted idea of what Los Angeles Landscape is. By putting an emphasis on the city’s fragmented and evolving nature, its becoming and collapsing, constantly confronting romantic perceptions with the true nature of things, Dreamin’ of a… looks at the act of dreaming while realizing the challenges of completion, emphasizing the importance of progression, awareness and taking a personal stand, contributing altogether to the ever-shifting and open-ended fabric of locality.

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