Fri 2/28 – Mon 4/14
Opening: Fri 2/28 @ 6 – 9pm
Gadi Zamir, artist and owner of Asian Town Center’s Negative Space, is an active and engaged member of the community. Negative Space has become a gathering place for artists, musicians, political activists and the rest of the region’s residents. Reflections, held at the gallery at Trinity Cathedral, is an exhibition of his unique, personal artwork.
His work is unlike anything else you’ll see in town. Zamir uses traditional and nontraditional techniques to create his distinctive works on found wood. Zamir’s compositions are influenced by each piece of wood’s unique characteristics. He uses woodburning techniques, dyes, oils and more to manipulate the surface into complex, layered imagery. Reflections includes a number of large works selected around the theme of Lent – specifically repentance.
Zamir took some time out of his very busy schedule to reflect on his work.
Cool Cleveland: How did you select the work for this particular show?
Gadi Zamir: Steve Luzon, who is involved with the Trinity church, chose most of the pieces for the upcoming show. Since my show will run through the month of March and April, the Trinity church wanted to present work that will correlate to the theme of repentance, which is the central theme of Lent.
They chose pieces that provoke thought, raise awareness and invites the viewer to reflect. Among the pieces they chose, there will be a few other pieces which were made especially for the upcoming show including a large chalice sculpture and a few other biblical themed pieces.
Your use of each piece of wood’s unique characteristics in your creative process adds an intriguing dimension to the work. Did you know exactly where you were going before you started these works, or was it a reactionary process?
Usually, I use the grain or the imperfections of the wood to help me illustrate my thoughts. When I begin working on a piece of wood, I let the grain inspire and direct me with the illustrations. Sometimes I have the story before I begin to work on the piece, and miraculously a piece of wood will come with the accommodating layout. In the end, my work can be summarized as a collaboration of grain, stain and imagination.
Do you have any upcoming plans to exhibit your work?
My work is being displayed on an ongoing basis at my studio/gallery, Negative Space Gallery. I am also exhibiting my work in some of the local galleries in the Cleveland area. Recently, my design was chosen in a contest for designing a painted museum cabinet. The cabinet is currently a work in progress and can be seen at my gallery. I am frequently working on new pieces, and am always open to new opportunities that arise to exhibit my work.
Can you elaborate on any upcoming events at Negative Space? Any big plans for the upcoming year?
There are many exciting events and programs coming to Negative Space in the coming months. In honor of Women’s Awareness month, which is the month of March, we will host a show called Three Visions. Three Visions will feature the works of Marilyn Szalay, Jaymi Zents and Lisa Kenion. The show is being curated by Mary Urbas, Gallery Coordinator/Exhibition Curator at Lakeland Community College. It’s a part of a group of venues that will feature work by dozens of other female artists. The work is phenomenal, and a must see.
We are also hosting Creative Fusion, a program that welcomes artists from other countries into the Cleveland area for three month residencies. They will each have the opportunity to present their body of work to the public, and will plan other art related activities with local schools galleries, and other cultural centers of interest.
On an ongoing basis, the gallery has open mic nights on the last Saturday of each month, Shakespeare readings, and a variety of other events. You can check our website for upcoming events, which are posted on a monthly schedule. For quicker updates, you can friend us on Facebook. We are under ‘Negative Space’.
In the meantime, one of my pieces, Caught Between Life and Death has been chosen to represent Cleveland in an AIDS awareness show in Tel Aviv, Israel. A print will be auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting the Leah Rabin Foundation for fighting HIV/AIDS.
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Gadi Zamir may not be originally from Cleveland, but he’s become one of city’s cultural assets. Be sure to stop by Trinity Cathedral for Reflections this Friday, and Negative Space for some of its upcoming events soon.
Josh Usmani is a 27 year old local artist, curator and writer. Since 2008, his work has been featured in over 50 local and regional exhibitions.