Winners 2011 – The Ministry of Culture and Sport Prizes in Art and Design

The 2011 Ministry of Culture and Sport’s Prizes in Art and Design winners’ exhibition features a selection of works in diverse media: painting, drawing, photography, video, installation, sculpture, and design by 35 artists, recipients of the Art and Design awards in five categories: The Ministry of Culture and Sport Prize, Prize to Encourage Creativity, Prize for a Young Artist, Prize for Design, and Life Achievement Award. The exhibition was curated by Naomi Aviv, recipient of the 2011 Curator Prize.
Encapsulating the spirit of the time, the works address an entire set of issues pertaining to the intricate existence in the Israeli space: multiculturalism, private vs. collective identity, localism vs. universalism, realism vs. virtuality and illusion. Alongside use of the basic and traditional raw materials, the works employ digital technologies, objects, and sound; some reflect a combination of media, blurring the boundaries between them. They range between minimalism and a rich, complex visual language, between the conceptual and the emotional, the abstract and the narrative. Simultaneously, they display an introspective facet and an affinity with the discourse of art, performance and cinema, touching in various manners upon human existence, cultural consciousness, as well as social and political contents. At the same time, other artists engage conspicuously with formalism.
The prominence of video works in the show is congruent with the medium’s consolidation and its centrality at the spearhead of artistic practice in Israel, as well as with the success of Israeli video artists in the international scene.
A considerable room in this year’s prize exhibition will be dedicated to Reuven Berman Kadim, recipient of the 2011 Life Achievement Award, who has succeeded in creating channels alternative to the dominant mainstream in Israeli art. His work combines local, Eastern traditions with Western painterly and design perceptions associated with modernism, minimalism, and geometric abstraction.
Participating Artists:Life Achievement Award: Reuven Berman KadimMinistry of Culture and Sport Prize: Nelly Agassi, Raida Adon, Shai Ignatz, Eitan Ben-Moshe, Guy Ben-Ner, Jacob Mishori, David Adika, Noa SadkaPrize for a Young Artist: Tanya Karavan, Ben Hagari, Tamar Harpaz, Amit Levinger, Avi Sabah, Nadav Assor, Gabi Kricheli, Alona Rodeh, Elham Rokni, Ester SchneiderPrize to Encourage Creativity: David Oppenheim, Ilit Azoulay, Shai Azoulay, Amit Berlowitz, Maya Zack, Uri Nir, Ruti Sela, Nir Evron, Angela Klein, Dafna KaffemanPrize for Design: Dror Ben-Dov, Chava Mordhovich, Itay Noy, Yael Friedman, Gila Kaplan and Nirit Binyamini