Exhibition 2009

Gallery of paintings and sculptures of 2009 workshop students

I was asked to speak on the occasion of the opening of the sculpture and painting exhibition, which sums up the past year. There is a fundamental difference between a painting and a sculpture. Painting, we look at it and a statue, we can walk around it. And yet they have something in common, in both there is no real and no real, and in both there is humanity.

Before I talk about Alex, his son and the works that inhabit this place, I will quote, with your permission, from the book "The Dream Life of Sukhanov", written by Olga Groshin. The hero, who is a painter, tells about his path to art and thus he says:

"Art, the same glamorous and deceptive magic, the same celestial universe inhabited by gods, is something that can be taught - and a clumsy drawing of a cup of tea can, somehow, be the key to valuable apprenticeships. It's hard work of course. "The colors, the sounds and the textures of the creatures in it שבו I will have to extract the secrets of the colors from the earth at my feet, memorize the shades of the sunset and the shadows of the rain. Distinguish between the different shades of white, read a rainbow like in singing ירה"

And in my opinion - such should be our way as well.

Now I'll talk to Alex. It is said that every person has a substitute. If we want to find a replacement for Alex, the first thing we need to do is look for an artist. We can tour galleries and workshops, and surely there is a worthy artist there. But this is not enough, we will also have to find a teacher, one who has multiple knowledge and proper manners and has the patience and ability to convey the material in the best way. And when one is found, it is still not enough. Now we will have to ask a psychologist, who knew how to penetrate the depths of our souls, to see the hidden there and publish them. One who knew how to address each and every one in his special language. Routing fears and revealing anger. To give place to joy and happiness, hidden or visible, and to produce the best. With these three experts, we must now go out and look for the philosopher, who will teach us to give meaning to things, that every mirror has its truth, and in everything there is life, even in the inanimate object. Let him show us the way and guide us how to walk it.

Now I was told, isn't it simpler to stay with Alex, instead of going out and looking for four professionals? Because Alex is all those experts I just mentioned. He is a teacher, he is a psychologist, he is a philosopher - and above all he is an artist.

Confucius said: "In everything north is beauty, but not everyone is able to see it." Under Alex's guidance we learn, time and time again, not only to open our eyes but also to open our hearts to perceive beauty the moment it occurs. And beauty, as we know, is the only thing that is not harmed by time, it is the property of eternity. For example, when we look at a statue of Nefertiti. It was dismantled 1350 BC, and its magnificent beauty illustrates the heartbeat even today. Or Venus from Milo… even without hands is amazing.

Art is a journey into vanishing worlds, revealed only by those who are willing to take the risk of the journey. And as with any journey, you have to learn the way and you also have to know a little bit to get lost. Alex hands us the compass, which directs us in the direction. Then he stands aside and lets us stray, and find the way again. He puts tools in our hands. He gives us wings, but is educated to let us learn for ourselves how to fly. It gives us a new perspective so that we can see the proportion and harmony in either a grotesque figure or a distortion. See the beauty in ugliness. Because seeing the beauty and proportion in the body of a shapely model, (you know 90,60,90), almost anyone can.

On another occasion I quoted Picasso who said, "Some artists turn the sun into a yellow spot and others in their genius turn a yellow spot into a sun." Alex does not have to touch yellow, enough that he talks about it, and before our eyes the sun appears in all its glory. And we - after showing us the origin of colors, the connections between them, their intensity - look at them in a different way, we have new evidence today. And as in the quote I quoted at the beginning, we learned to notice the shades of white.

As we follow Alex's guiding hands, we are mesmerized. These are the hands of an artist. We see his fingers and they, like the fingers of a pianist on the keyboards, vibrate differently, according to the colors they touch. Alex has strong hands, with intertwined muscles, but how gently they touch the statue. Like in a love game with a woman, they caress sensually and give shape…

Then he strikes a hoarse finger, wakes us from our scratches and says, "Now you are."

And we - we are all you see around here.

When we look at the pictures hanging on the wall and the sculptures placed on their stands, the heart expands with pride - we have learned to fly.

Thank you Alex for giving and guiding, thank you for the smile and the encouraging handshake. Thank you for the conversations, which sometimes slide into other worlds, and re-penetrate the color and the material. Thank you for the instructive lessons, description and practice alike. Thanks Alex for everything.

Let us raise a glass in honor of our revered Moreno, and as Aeschylus said:

"Bronze reflects the figure of the body and wine - the figure of the heart." Long live friends, long live the 'teacher'!

Nurit Lieberman, student

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Group art workshops at the Charkov art studio, located in the center of the country in a quiet neighborhood of Givatayim and operating there since 2004. The workshops combine painting, drawing and sculpture studies with guidance and personal attention to each participant. The study is adapted to the individual pace and study topics to the participant's choice. Workshops for children from second grade and workshops for adults suitable for all levels, beginners and advanced.