Gordon Gallery: Israeli modern art comes to Jerusalem

Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul neighborhood, near the main entrance to the city, is famous for the location of Angels Bakery, industrial workshops and plenty of yeshivas. This is also the area where Gordon Gallery, a cornerstone of Tel Aviv’s modern art scene since 1966, chose to open its Jerusalem branch recently. Located on the top floor of an industrial building, it stands out mainly for its large windows. But Gordon Gallery is not completely out of place. It sits near a branch of the famous Bezalel Academy of Art and Design that caters to ultra-Orthodox students as well as a number of art studios, many of them run by those students or former students. It is the latest addition to the city’s increasingly diverse art scene. “We are thrilled to usher in the next era of Gordon Gallery and further progress the dialogue between secular Israeli  art and the religious connotation of Jerusalem,” says Amon Yariv, who has been the director of Gordon Gallery in Tel Aviv since 2004. The building was designed to be a unique, but welcoming space. “The challenge was to set the  space apart from its surroundings without being ostentatious,” said architects Motti Rauchwerger and Hadar Menkes of Tel Aviv-based Salty Architects, which designed the gallery, which also includes a library and archive that are open to the public. The interior is simple, with grey floors and white walls, letting the art take center stage. Yariv has wanted to open a gallery space in Jerusalem ever since he studied at Bezalel decades ago. He says that it will inspire future artists and contribute to the developing art and culture scene in the city. He is hopeful it will “attract art seekers to explore Israeli art from a new  perspective.” The current exhibitions include Ofer Lellouche’s  “Recent Works,” which is centered around a bronze sculpture, The Hug, and nine small reliefs depicting the work process on the sculpture from different angles, giving an insight into his artistic process. In addition, there is an exhibition called “Death in God’s Realm” which features ten of the deceased Israeli artist Aviva Uri’s paintings from the 1960’s until her death in 1984. Often seen as the  “Great Mother of Israeli art,” Uri’s work has influenced newer generations of Iraeli artists. The Gordon Gallery is located at  Building 3, 3rd floor, Sapir Center. For more information, opening hours and updates on exhibitions, see the Gordon Gallery website.