The exhibition “Snipers on a Can” examined the concepts of ‘assemblage,’ ‘ready-made,’ ecological art, and the role of art today as a form of production. The exhibition featured three artists: Haran Mendel, Dror Karta, and Rimma Arslanov.
Dror Karta and Haran Mendel both incorporate various ready-mades into their work.
Rimma Arslanov presented an engaging body of work that deconstructs objects by recreating them in unexpected ways.
Dror Karta, a Florentin 45 Gallery artist, exhibited sculptures, objects, and paintings, a mere fragment of the infinite abundance that fills his studio. His works span different periods: some are earlier figurative and classic pieces, while others are hybrids combining various ready-made and found objects. Examples include Jesus on a hanger, toy soldiers on a sardine can, and a male organ inside a bullet.
His works blend ominous humor with self-awareness, and despite their often morbid or violent content, they convey a certain lightness, as if resulting from impulsive, uncontrolled acts. Karta explores conceptual themes familiar to art discourse, such as the fusion of ‘high’ and ‘low’ art (e.g., a sardine can plated with gold), while some pieces carry political and personal meaning. On one hand, his process echoes the Arte Povera movement painting on plywood and using found, inexpensive materials. On the other, his work reflects material abundance and an urgent need to endlessly accumulate and release objects. Karta’s art portrays a libidinal drive, creating a unique, invigorated world of hybrids, full of sexuality and passion.
Haran Mendel, an MFA graduate of Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, exhibited assemblages of various materials, found objects, and images. He uses random images from magazines and newspaper cut-outs as his ‘color palette.’ The raw materials for his sculptures are ready-made objects he collects and brings to his studio, and their surprising combinations create unexpected new contexts. Mendel gives unglamorous objects and images new meaning, reflecting today’s fleeting trends and fashions. His sculptures almost resemble eerie living creatures, imbued with humor and sophistication.
Rimma Arslanov, a graduate of the Avni Institute of Art and Design, exhibited sculptures from different periods of her artistic process. Her work re-creates everyday, seemingly trivial objects, which could serve as raw materials for Mendel and Karta. She selects objects- some with cultural and social significance- and transforms them by enlarging their scale or changing their material. For example, Mashrabiya, a common brick from traditional Islamic architecture, was recreated on a large scale and covered with fuzzy gray fur, creating an optical illusion and giving the politically charged, heavy object a sudden softness. In a world over flooded with objects, Arslanov places ordinary things in an unexpected spotlight, raising environmental and cultural questions.
Curators: Liora Belford & Dina Yakerson