Golden Buddhist Sculptures

We'd love some of these for our personal collection. Unfortunately they reside at the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai.

Snapshots of our NY

A trip to our hometown was just what the doctor ordered after this never ending Tel Aviv summer. It was a much needed glimpse into the beginnings of winter and gave us a chance to catch up with some of our old favorite spots. We spent a rainy morning at the Morgan Library and did a proper museum catch-up at the Moma, Cooper Hewitt, PS1, the NY Public Library, etc... At some point we got museumed-out, and the shopping began. We visited the newly renovated Lincoln Center and spent an afternoon of wanderings around Chelsea which would be incomplete without a dip into the Chelsea Market and a stroll on the Highline. In short, it was divine. We will return...

Anish Kapoor @ The Israel Museum

We took a Saturday trip to Jerusalem to see the newly renovated Israel Museum and the newly commissioned site specific, Anish Kapoor sculpture, Turning The World Upside Down, Jerusalem. Its  made of polished stainless steel, stands 5 meters high and reflects an inverted image of the museum and the surrounding hills. More on our museum visit soon...

A Peaceful Morning...

Textile Dept. Graduate Exhibition @ Shenkar

At the opening of the Shenkar College Graduate Exhibition 2010 we were fascinated by the variety of  works produced by Textile Design graduates. Each individual project completely differed from the next. The variety of fabrics and techniques was quite astounding. It's been a while since we saw textiles this beautiful. We wish some of this vibrancy would leak into the local Tel Aviv fashion scene, where print, color and texture are a rare find. Somehow everyone seems to love their black/grey/white cotton monotones season after season...

This piece by Meytal Tzabary really caught our eye. The incorporation of the pastel crochet into the fabric with all the loose threads was eye-catching.

This series of blue and white geometric prints by Tali Zelnik could easily be made into a dress.

These hanging silk fabrics had various other materials embedded into them like pressed dried flowers. More photos of this series here and here and here.

This series of woven silk/cotton had feathers woven within. More photos here.

We found this pattern of black line drawings infused with bright colors  by Lital Gold, striking. We love a good pattern for spring/summer. Another print from this series here.

Shenkar Graduate Exhibition 2010

We went to the opening of the Shenkar College Graduate Exhibition 2010 (here's the exhibition info in English) with D and were surprisingly impressed with this year's line up of graduate design works. More to come soon...

The Hand Factory

The Hand Factory is a great postcard shop in Old Jaffa.

They also did a wall drawing at the recent Fresh Paint Art Fair.

and another in 2009 on Messilat Yesharim street (Tel Aviv)
The two wall drawing photos are from Julien Roux's website.

The Hand Factory
Julien Roux & Elanit Leder
15 Netiv Amazalot
Old Jaffa
tel 054 9205592

BILL and Chimera

Summer has arrived and a recent gust of dance performances in Tel Aviv has left us pretty busy balancing work and play. Last week we went to the premier of BILL by Sharon Eyal and were truly amazed. The movement, costumes, lighting, everything was precise with just the perfect amount of crazy/wild. It has been a while since we have seen truly forward thinking choreography. We loved it and can't wait to see what she does next.

Last night we continued our summer dance binge at Chimera where we enjoyed 13 short dance pieces by the Batsheva Ensemble. If you hurry, there are 2 performances left over the weekend.

images from the Batsheva website.

Details of... Hieroglyphics

We went down to Egypt.

During the Passover holiday we joined A+L for a 9 day organized tour of Egypt. We don't do group tours, but as it was paid for, we thought it ridiculous to resist. It was a tumultuous journey. We joined forty 65+ Israeli travelers and wreaked havoc on the land of the Pharaohs. Egypt is an incredible country with much to see and do. We recommend going solo as it is safe and a major part of the fun is meeting the locals, an impossible feat when you're in a group tour.

The first day was all about the PYRAMIDS. Amazing.

Pyramids and tour buses.

The Sphinx.

Tzadok Ben David, Outside the Museum

A late Wednesday morning we passed by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The line for the Tzadok Ben David exhibition extended through the whole square, confirming the great hype surrounding it the past few weeks. Not to say the installation isn't worth the wait, but it definitely shows the power of good PR. This is the first time we've seen a line like this in Tel Aviv.
The exhibition, by the way, closes tomorrow.

Hora, Bat-Sheva Dance Company

Last Saturday we went to see Hora, a Bat-Sheva Dance Company performance, and enjoyed all 60 minutes of it. The curtain opened to a stark stage surrounded by neon green washed walls, with only one long wooden bench. A beautiful setting for a moving performance. The choreography and dance execution were immaculate. Strong movements, some almost acrobatic, were delivered with strict accuracy, sensitive to space and time. All this was enhanced by the minimalist lighting design which changed the stage with every nuance.

Hora, by Ohad Naharin

Performed by the Bat-Sheva Dance Company

Photos from the Bat-Sheva website

Pink in Yaffo

Took a stroll through Yaffo (Ha'armon st.) and found this interesting architectural phenomenon. A flat and simple elevation with a laced wall -mashrabiya- creates an inner courtyard used for circulation. Cool, no?