LONDON.- Sotheby's London announce the debut exhibition on Thursday, 5 May to Wednesday, 11 May, 2011 of the latest design project by celebrated designer Ron Arad in association with WMF: "Pirouette" cutlery. The exquisitely designed and crafted cutlery opens up a new approach to dining and 50 sets will be available to buy for the first time at a selling exhibition curated by Janice Blackburn and hosted by Sotheby’s - Bezalel: Legacy, Innovation, Inspiration.
Ron Arad, a former student of Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem, will exhibit his cutlery together with a selection of works by some of the most talented Israeli designers working today, all recent graduates and students from Bezalel. Works to be exhibited include ceramics and glass, photography, industrial design and fashion. The exhibition offers a real insight into the multi-layered types of design that have earned Bezalel its much deserved reputation as one of the world’s most outstanding arts institutions, which visitors to Sotheby’s East Gallery will be able to see and enjoy for themselves.
Curator Janice Blackburn visited Israel last year to see Ron Arad’s spectacular new Design Museum in Holon and took the opportunity to meet designers and explore studios and galleries. After a day at Bezalel in Jerusalem, looking at student work and talking to President Professor Arnon Zuckerman, she felt motivated to bring a selection of the best of past and present student’s work to London. Janice regards the high level and diversity of the work to be exceptional, sparkling and with original thought and artistic vision.
Professor Arnon Zuckerman, President of the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem, said: “The Bezalel Academy is thrilled and privileged to be welcomed by Sotheby's in London to display a selection of student and graduate work. The various pieces give just a taste of the wide range of disciplines that Bezalel offers, whilst successfully conveying the innovation, inspiration, and talent nurtured within our student body both currently and steadily throughout the past century. This exciting collaboration with Sotheby's befits our reputation as a world leading academy of art, design and architecture, where creativity, quality and excellence are the very essence of our 105 year long history.”
Ron Arad
Ron Arad’s “Pirouette” knife, fork and spoon open up a new approach to dining, and seem to float above the table. Keeping their balance on a minimal base surface, the cutlery starts to bob up and down when touched. Thus the "Pirouette" begins its playful balance between form and function. The German company WMF is one of the leading international manufacturers of cutlery and, as an innovative brand, welcomed the opportunity to work with Arad. They have donated 50 sets to sell to benefit the exhibition, which are priced at £130 each.
Impliant Ltd.
The exhibition will also showcase the innovations in medical technology of Impliant Ltd., an Israeli-based firm run by Ami Drach and Dov Ganchrow, 1991 and 1992 Bezalel graduates who work from a studio in Jaffa. Working with doctors and surgeons, Implant Ltd. has been using cutting-edge materials and engineering techniques to develop a new class of orthopaedic implants in joint replacement and other orthopaedic procedures. The TOPS system was developed for patients suffering from mild-to-moderate spinal stenosis. It is a posterior motion preservation system in the form of a titanium implant that allows limited and controlled motion, thereby reducing pressure without impeding spinal motion. Their ‘Hotplate’ range of designed china will be exhibited too, and is priced at £255 a piece (one of which is shown right).
Further works to be exhibited include:
Together with works in ceramics, glass and industrial design, a photography project on the port town of Ashdod will feature. The large body of images represents the unusual challenge of the encounter between Bezalel students and the expansive city over the course of a week when the Ashdod municipality invited them to photograph the city with no limitations or constrictions. The students were allowed entry into factories, municipal services, cultural and social institutions, while photographing the everyday workings of the city, and the involvement defines the opportunities encouraged by Bezalel’s photography department to offer students documentary projects which connect them to the fabric of the country. Team, by Sergey Litvinov and shown above left, is priced at £500.
The fashion project ‘Red but not Tapping’ is an experimental shoe project. The shoes presented in the collection aim to pose fundamental questions about the humanity hidden in the object – its proximity to the body, the practice of walking and the show owner’s habit, while highlighting the uniqueness of the cultural and materialistic surroundings.
Tal Gur, who graduated in 1996 and is a senior lecturer at Bezalel, will be exhibiting two chairs and some stunning lighting. Mesh chair, is priced at £3,900.
Ezri Tarazi, who graduated in 1989, is showing a selection of witty but practical furniture including his marvellous Baghdad Table (priced £10,400).
Several Bezalel graduates go on to post graduate degrees at London’s Royal College of Art and they too will be represented. David Amar, winner of the 2007 Clore Foundation Scholarship to the RCA, has designed the exhibition at Sotheby’s, and will also be an exhibitor, as will the current holder of the award, ceramicist Zemer Peled.
Design duo Shay Alkalay and Yael Mer (‘Raw Edges’) go from strength to strength, designing interiors for the Stella McCartney fashion stores all over the world. “Hole in the Floor” is a series of storage units made in sapele wood with metal handles (£400 each).
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem
Founded in 1906, Bezalel Academy quickly established an impressive international reputation in art and design which increased when, prior to the Second World War, German refugees settled in Israel and joined the faculty. They endowed Bezalel with a strong Bauhaus ethos and discipline, having taught at the renowned Bauhaus School until it was closed down by the Nazis. This rich legacy and spirit of creative integrity has remained a shining influence for generations of students who continue the tradition without resting on past achievements.
Today Bezalel Academy has a broad and multifaceted scope of professional and artistic activities involving pioneering state-of-the-art design as well as traditional techniques of craftsmanship. It is the source of significant creativity with an international network of art and design excellence. Bezalel nurtures originality and creative talent, which contributes hugely to the on-going cultural identity of Israel.
