B. 1996 Tel Aviv, Israel
Lives and works in Berlin, Germany
Detailed black and white limbs in a dehumanized virtual dimension composed of color planes and shapes are the point of departure for the large-scale canvas works of Israeli artist Yam Shalev.
Geometric shapes float like fragments of brutalist building structures across the surface of the image carrier, on which they evoke a transformation of volume and emptiness.
In their powerful heterogeneity to the anachronistic black and white extremities that position themselves on the canvas like living foreign bodies, the bright, pointed colors mark a transition between realistic and imaginary.
As in a jigsaw puzzle, the coherence of the individual segments is only revealed after they have been put together. Reality and virtual dimensions connect through isolated body parts that try to find a grip in an artificial, polished world. Detached from a personified physicality, they work as a representation for all of us.
Reflecting a digital generation, Shalev's surrealist compositions do not show past, present or future, nor fantasy and reality, rather they comment on the influence of digital surroundings on our culture.
(Text by Katharina Galladé)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS :
2021 - 'Watchlist No.2', Galerie Droste, Wuppertal, Germany
2020 - 'Dialogs', Atelier97 arte contemporanea Gallery, La Spezia, Italy
2020 - 'Contemporary Fine Art', Art.Number 23 Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2019 - 'Christmas group exhibition', Stiftung Starke Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2019 - 'UNGEMUETLICH VI', Forum factory Gallery, Berlin, Germany
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS :
2020 - '48hours Neukölln', Im Grünen Bereich studio, Berlin, Germany
PRESS :
2020 - Freiraum magazine - Personal interview - https://freiraum.io/blog/20-minutes-with-yam-shalev/
2020 - AucArt auction house - Online exhibition and interview - https://www.aucart.com/in-the-studio-with-yam-shalev/
2019 - Art Verge magazine - Personal interview for the magazine - https://art-verge.com/yam-shalev-i-come-from-here/
2019 - Art Wista online art platform - Publication and featuring - https://www.artwista.com/event/Yam-Shalev-Studio-visit/217/overview
2019 - ArtWeek - Artist of the month - https://www.artjobs.com/op/artists/germany/822693474/yam-shalev
2019 - IM GRÜNEN BEREICH - Residency 2019 - http://im-gruenen-bereich.berlin/?p=47
RESIDENCY :
2019 - IM GRÜNEN BEREICH, Berlin, Germany