Sculptors have always intrigued me. My practice as curator and philosopher always followed the motivation that all art is born out of a concept, an idea, which in itself is not an easy development. Then, the concept (might) materialize(s) into an artwork. This process from idea to physical work, inevitably also establishes a loss of the original concept, or intention, because now the artist is confronted with the boundaries and specific characteristics of the material, his own craftmanship, skills, energy, and the situational relationship the new artwork is placed in, during and after completion. Even though the artwork, in the world of matter, is removed from the initial concept, it becomes automatically a conceptual work; body referring to psyche, material referring to immateriality. This is the transcending energy in which I see the work of Avi Sperber. The struggle is that artwork that sometimes has a spiritual motivation, could contradict itself via the use of the chosen art discipline. Sculpture is almost always a medium that monumentalizes an idea. The key is to use the materials, stone, wood, metal and others, in such way that the artwork transcends a certain lightness and coincidence. This aspect is what attracts me most in Avi Sperber’s “Sign of Life”, “Meeting Tycho Brahe and the Maharel”, and “Alef”. Here, the artist succeeds in the creation of works that read like collages, sketches, compositions that are transitory and perfect in their poetic suggestion in such way that they catch and hold the attention of the viewer. We are challenged with a personal reading of the sculptures by navigating our thoughts through the associative and situational compositions, that reflect the sky and accept thereby, a constant change of atmosphere.
Jan Van Woensel
Ladislav Sutnar Faculty of Design&Art
University of West Bohemia
Curator of the Ladislav Sutnar Gallery
Inkubator Project Space
International Projects
A Dialogue with Historical Cultures via Avi Sperber’s Sculpture by Doron Polak