Opening night of the 2014 exhibition
Mayor of Givatayim
Acting Mayor of Givatayim
Exhibition curator
Theater director
Chairman of the Raj-Givatayim Association of Painters and Sculptors
Participating in Alexander Cherkov's workshop:
Participating in Alexander Cherkov's workshop:
Mayor of Givatayim
Good evening to everyone, dear guests and of course Alex.
I live something like 100 meters from Alex's studio on Sde Boker Street, every time even before I was elected, I would pass by the shelter, I had never been there.
First time was about two months ago, I always said to myself interesting what is her name down, I thought some painter looking for a place to pass the time. And when I was first around about two months ago, and I went downstairs and met Alex for the first time, very connected to what Doron said, I suddenly found myself in a wonderful place, underground with a person who is all radiant with happiness and light and love and art and pleasantness.
He did a round for me and showed me all the things, some of the things, now I turned around a bit so I really understood the quality, the quantity.
And I must tell you that this is how I want to see Givatayim, that is my vision. Our pride is in people like Alex, and in studios like this, and in residents like you, who are engaged in art and are engaged in culture, and this is Givatayim and has always been a city of very quality people, who have always been involved in culture, and art and music.
In my opinion, it has decreased a bit in recent years, one of my goals is to return to Givatayim what it once was in this sense. As many people as possible will be involved in community life, will engage in art, engage in painting, sculpture, culture, music, theater, and that is where we are marching. Of course also with the help of good people like you Doron Polak, I of course congratulate you on this beautiful exhibition.
So enjoy the show, thank you. Alex Thank you for everything you do, keep it up, strong and healthy to do good to many more people, and good luck to everyone, thank you.
Acting Mayor of Givatayim
In fact 10 years or more ago, this was the first time I congratulated Ben Ami on an exhibition of Alex, yours, the painters and sculptors. I think it was then in the country.
And since then, it has come a long way and what is important in this way, just like Doron said, is the same vision, the same decision to put aside the making of a great artist and all his energy, of doing, of art, of culture, to give to the benefit of his students, and every student who passes by him becomes To be an artist in his own right.
To get to the Givatayim Theater and present an exhibition, it is true that you also need the backing of the mayor, the CEO and the treasurer himself. But you need a person who will fight for his students to make it possible, and Alex you make it possible.
I really want to wish on this occasion for the new year, to wish us all to be a little Alex Cherkov, that we all know how to give our best to someone else so that he can develop and be able to pass it on.
So have a good year and let this culture inspire the spirit of us all in Givatayim.
Exhibition curator
Givatayim has undergone a major transformation in the past year.
I think for me and as said before getting to know such a great work of art in this city, I want to say it was a very big market.
When I arrived in the middle of the war at Alex's workshop, I actually knew an atelier of a kind I hardly know in the country. A teacher who is a character of an artist, just almost as familiar in Renaissance stories. I compare you to the great artists who knew for a moment to stop at their own creation because you are an exceptional creator.
You yourself are truly a sculptor and painter of height.
When I saw the love and dedication and respect you give to your students, it was something that accompanied me when I wrote the article, so I decided to mention it first thing because I think each of the 80 artists here before coming to study art, painting and sculpture, come to you to enjoy your humanity and talent Your cooperation and dialogue with them.
One of the things I saw and it is reflected in this exhibition that you are not a demagogue teacher, you are not imposing your art on your students, but you are conducting a dialogue where you develop the ability of each and every one of the people standing here and that is a very appreciative thing.
I want to say that compared to a lot of group exhibitions, which are really eclectic exhibitions of this kind, it has a very high level, a level of painting, a level of sculpture. There are a lot of landscape pictures here, there are a lot of figurative works here, and I really think the thing that unites everything is the high level and quality. In this space, the best Israeli artists performed, and you are here in a very, very dignified manner.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the mayor, Ren Konik, who for many, many years this city has not had such a real flight in its cultural life.
Theater director
I met Alex a few days ago, he fought for this show like a lion. He did not give up on me anyone, and he worked here from morning till night, he ran and drove and came back. I have no doubt that this exhibition is full of his passion, his love first of all for the people who are with him in the workshops and then for this wonderful art.
You came to these works under the guidance of Alexander, so I too am considering signing up for his workshop.
Chairman of the Raj-Givatayim Association of Painters and Sculptors
First I want to thank Alex who honors me every year at the exhibitions and achievements of his students.
I am very excited to see the impressive works on display by the special people and creators who unite around Alex. Undoubtedly their blessed influence on art is evident in them.
I am the chairman of the Painters' Association and people want to see my paintings, what do I do? Doing an exhibition. The truth is I was afraid of criticism, even though I myself am a curator and see a lot of exhibitions. What to do? Invite Alex. I invited Alex to my house, I showed him all my paintings, and I wait for his mouth to come out, and he with his hearty smile, looks at me and I wait for the person to say something, my heart beats.
He tells me, you have problems with paintings here and there, but do not fix anything! It put me under pressure, because I'm a pedant and I like everything to be in order, and he adds, even in the paintings of the great painters I can show you mistakes, and all that does not matter. The main thing you draw from the heart and with love.
I think that's Alex's motto. In short Alex will continue to be like that and I am also happy to add that he is a member of the board of our Painters Association, and what he does there - amazing!
And happy new year to all!
I am very excited, first of all thank you very much for coming and choosing this evening to contribute to this exhibition, thank you.
Thank you to Mr. Konik, thank you to Mrs. Avraham, thank you to Mr. Amiel, thank you Doron for the exhibition, for helping me to see it differently, and for helping me in some things to really change my vision of the treasures. Thanks to the management of the Givatayim Theater, who, as the director of the Givatayim Theater said at the beginning, had a bit of a war, but we all managed to emerge victorious in the end.
And for a new year, I just want to wish you a happy, successful, healthy year, and lots of love, a year of peace, health and new creations, thank you.
Participating in Alexander Cherkov's workshop:
Dear Alex,
Thank you for the wonderful experience you have given us in your painting and sculpture workshop, in the vast knowledge, in the way you teach. With great sensitivity you approach each one and teach in a way that suits him. Your learning is done both with the head and with the heart, and with all the soul, with a lot of love and a lot of light. There is a special atmosphere in your classes and we all enjoy it. You have won a wonderful family that accompanies and supports.
Something in a personal tone, I was very lucky, the honor and pleasure to come to your workshop four years ago, after many years of not painting. I learned a lot from you, that I included my observation from your new perspective, I enjoyed the special form of learning and your illuminating personality. I have acquired a lot of helpful tips that I use. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for that.
Thank you very much, and may we have a happy new year, a year of creativity, success and happiness!
Participating in Alexander Cherkov's workshop:
It has been 10 years since the painting and sculpture workshop founded by Alex Cherkov and this is a good reason for an exhibition on the two floors of the Givatayim Theater. The exhibition features 80 students and alumni.
Alex set up the workshop with his ten fingers and placed many generations of students.
Thanks to his radiant personality, professionalism and extensive knowledge, the workshop has become a magnet for many students, who have come to study and develop in painting and sculpture. Word of mouth carried Alex's name and so I, like many others, came to study sculpture with Alex 3 years ago.
Alex, the artist and teacher with great doctrine and knowledge connected with all the inclinations and desires of each student, promoted him with kindness and professionalism, patience and great investment and planted in him faith in his abilities.
Alex's custom is to move between students in a regular order during the lesson. He does not skip anyone. He examines and looks, explains and sometimes touches and demonstrates, making a remark that manages to produce a different insight, a new direction that will promote the act of creation.
Each student in the workshop works on something different and Alex in his own special way manages to connect to everything the student has chosen to do and accompany him on a personal level.
For me it was an experience to come every Sunday evening to Alex's workshop and work in it. I was happy to start a new work week in the sculpture workshop. For years I dreamed of sculpting and with your help, Alex, I was able to fulfill a dream, overcome a gap of 30 years from the time I stopped studying art until I returned to it.
This is an opportunity to say thank you personally and how much I have learned and donated from you.
You can't talk about Alex's workshop without mentioning Nili, Alex's daughter. Nili is Alex's right hand man, she manages the daily life of the workshop with great skill and examination. You managed to get the most out of the workshop space thanks to a correct view of the place. Every year I was surprised anew to see the change that took place in the place. The walls of the shelter could not be moved but you knew how to place the cabinets and furniture so that they could work comfortably. In my opinion, you managed to improve the place every year. I enjoyed working in the workshop with the music playing in the background, which you tastefully chose to play for us. I appreciated your personal ability to be careful and keep in touch with each student by phone and email. Alex and we workshop students have been blessed with you.
Members of the workshop, each of you has a personal statement, a unique fingerprint, that characterized the products of your work in the workshop. Many people and special moments will remain engraved in the memories of the workshop hours.
To all the students I met at the workshop, who are also partners in the diverse exhibition at the Givatayim Theater, I wish continued fruitful work.
Gallery of paintings and sculptures of 2014 workshop students
A magical and unique atmosphere accompanies the visitor for the first time in Alexander Charkov's spacious studio located in an urban shelter in the center of Givatayim. This center for art studies is currently celebrating a decade of its existence and presents a fine achievement of hundreds of students, who were lucky enough to be introduced to the ways of the art world there for the first time. The pulsating figure of Alexander Cherkov, artist and teacher, founder of the art studio, looms from all sides and from every corner of this classic atelier. A random visit in the morning brought me together with a group of students in a figurative sculpture class. Each of them was engrossed in his corner, next to his private sculpture stand, all of them were busy sculpting a human figure, with Cherkov moving from one to the other, advising, assisting, teaching and exuding an almost fatherly love for each of his students. From conversations I had with the people of the workshop, I immediately realized that this is not a formal place for studying painting and sculpture, but a human place, where creative values and professional technical means are passed on to the participants with the aim of helping to promote their natural and personal talent. The participants of the workshops testify to exciting personal experiences that changed their lives during their studies in the workshops. The current exhibition at the Givatayim Theater reveals the works of approximately eighty graduates and students at the center. The exhibition provides a glimpse into the students' world and the unique relationship created between them and their teacher.
Curator of the exhibition: Doron Polak