dvir gallery presents latifa echakhch and david maljkovic's solo shows

located in an unnoticeable five-floor factory in tel aviv’s jaffa neighborhood is dvir gallery, a contemporary art space specializing in contemporary art. for over twenty years they have been exhibiting, promoting and representing israeli artists in and outside of israel. from may 13 through august 05, 2017, the gallery has presented two solo exhibitions: latifa echakhch and david maljkovic.

nude — dvir gallery, tel aviv, israel 24.06.2017 – 13.05.2017 exhibition view

for her fourth solo exhibition at dvir gallery, moroccan-french artist latifa echakhch delved into cultural materials as subject matters to deconstruct and represent everyday objects. she created sharp-witted installations that challenge cultural assumptions. when looking at the pieces, the audience is confronted with the traces of an action and with a part of the artist’s personal life. the new body of work reflects and creates a dialogue with the landscape of tel aviv.

nude, 2017 concrete, acrylic paint 200 x 150 x 3 cm unique

developed for the exhibition on site, latifa’s most recent paintings rework in a material and poetic way her impressions and feelings of long walks around tel aviv. thought as a portrait of the city, the pieces evoke elements of decomposition, renewal, vanishing, and reconstruction. entitled ‘nude’, the series is the peak of an ongoing process in latifa’s work, unfolding a personal connection to her own life and creating a space of intimacy between the viewer and the piece.

nude, 2017 (detail) concrete, acrylic paint 200 x 150 x 3 cm unique

reflecting on the traits and stories of her life, our culture, and its imprints on our way of being, the works ‘nova’ and ‘untitled (cups)’ evoke an ambivalence of meaning between their original functions and their subsequent delicacy in a decomposed state. latifa puts forward a contrast in materiality and functionality, wherein the object she uses becomes the holder of its own fragility, unveiling the limits of human strength and durability.

through appropriation of everyday objects and elements familiar to us, every piece creates a transversal journey between the artist’s personal history and the immediate impression of her surroundings.

nude — dvir gallery, tel aviv, israel 24.06.2017 – 13.05.2017 exhibition view

nova (b), 2017 (alternate view) antique lamp dimensions variable unique

nova (b), 2017 antique lamp dimensions variable unique

untitled, 2017 pita, cement dimensions variable unique

dvir gallery, tel aviv, israel 24.06.2017 – 13.05.2017 exhibition view

david maljkovic’s exhibition has been a continuation of his previous practice of using earlier works as ‘raw material’ for creating new relations by recycling both the content and the form, questioning the nature of working, living and city space. the artworks delve into the malleability of the collective and individual experience of time and space by presenting the viewers with pieces that create their own space, time and history, whole also hinting at at answers to the uncertainty of an unknowable future. in doing so, maljkovic often plays on the possibilities allowed by mediums at hand, making works that have a more intuitive use of materials.

yet to be titled, 2017 (detail)
inkjet print on cotton canvas mounted on aluminium composite panel, laser drawings 150×100 cm
unique

maljkovic embraces the collage method and self-referentiality by re(using) his earlier works as raw material in order to reach a high level of complexity in his work. the exhibition spins around a network of subtle signs, fragments, transformations, metamorphoses and references. there is a certain parallelism on stage, in which, the space of everyday routine as well as artistic practice is approached. this is visible on the two-dimensional surface where a photograph serves as a backdrop for the fine network of drawing on the surface. these lines recall various metamorphoses of the artist’s work, where two opposing realities create the theme.

yet to be titled, 2017 (detail)
inkjet print on cotton canvas mounted on aluminium composite panel, laser drawings 150×100 cm
unique

david maljkovic’s objects follow the subtle narrative of the collage, although not always in an obvious way. the logic of the exhibition thus continues in the object’s work that also disrupts the image and deconstructs the posited narrative. here, the intimate space rejects is own mood, and in its deconstruction it becomes a hybrid artifact in which new experiences are being enabled.

dvir gallery, tel aviv, israel 24.06.2017 – 13.05.2017 exhibition view