Framing is something we do everyday. Choosing what to see, what to include in the frame of our sight or our consciousness and what to leave out. The boundaries of our vision delimit our experience of life. But the limits are motile, hardly ever static.
In May 2021 fighting broke out between Israel Defense Forces and Hamas terror group in Gaza. Thousands of Hamas missiles were launched against Israeli civilians. Living in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv I, like many thousands, was forced to take shelter as the missiles rained down. At the same time, Arab Israelis rioted against Jewish Israelis in several towns and cities where the two lived side by side. Jewish restaurants were attacked and burned. Synagogues were vandalized. This piece is my response to that experience.
Materials: found objects, dry pastel on plywood, oil paint, brass, frame, wood, Plexiglas.
Dimensions: 23 x 15 x 2in / 57 x 37 x 5cm
May 2021
In the Time of Quarantine
Title from Psalm 23: A Psalm of David:
1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Materials: found objects, brass, bone, teeth, plywood, oil paint, Plexiglass, frame
Dimensions: 7x6x2in / 18x15x5cm
April 2020
It was the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown. The fear of our imminent doom seemed to pervade the news as if we were only minutes away from global annihilation. Would the human species be joining the Age of the Dinosaurs? Would we ever be able to come out of our caves? Locked away, we were told that each of us could be like a human bomb infecting dozens of others with our simple presence and without our even knowing it. It all seemed oh so grim. Even the colors around me seemed harsh and unforgiving. The sun shone a jaundiced yellow while the moon shone green in a washed-out tomato red sky. Was the apocalypse upon us? Was it Five Minutes to Midnight or had it already struck the top of the hour and we were doomed? The clock was ticking and we didn’t yet know.
Materials: found objects, river stone, teeth, brass, aluminum, steel, plywood, oil paint, Plexiglass, frame
Dimensions: 9x13x1.5in / 22x33x4cm
March 2020
The Age of Corona
Materials: found objects, river stone, teeth, brass, aluminum, steel, plywood, oil paint, Plexiglass, frame
Dimensions: 9x13x1.5in / 22x33x4cm
March 2020
The Age of Corona
Materials: found objects, wood, plywood, brass, Plexiglas, oil paint, varnish
Dimensions: 14x14x4in / 35.5x35.5x10cm
2020
Materials: found objects (Monopoly house & hotel, caribou tooth, river stone, plastic leaves, fishbone, child’s teething ring, brass spiral, bear claw) brass hardware, frame, plywood, stain, silicone, acrylic sheet.
Dimensions: 16 x 11 x 3in / 40 x 27.5 x 7.5cm
2019
Private Collection, Israel
Materials: found objects, wood, plywood, stain, frame, plexiglas
Dimensions: 17.5 x 13 x 2in / 47.5 x 33 x 5cm
2019
Goodness, what can happen in the blink of an eye defies imagination.
Materials: found objects, plywood, brass, stain, frame, acrylic sheet.
Dimensions: 14 x 12 x 2in / 35 x 30 x 5cm
2018
Materials: Found objects (plastic, glass, stone, steel, bronze, brass, copper, teeth, bone), frame, wood, plywood, stain,
Dimensions: 17 x 13 x 2in / 42.5 x 32.5 x 5cm
2018
Materials: Found objects, plastic, glass, stone, steel, bronze, brass, copper, teeth, bone, brass, wood, plywood, oil paint, acrylic sheet, frame
Dimensions: 17x13x2in / 42.5 x 32.5 x 5cm
2015
Materials: frame, wood, stain, found objects: river stone, bone, plastic dolls, branch
Dimensions: 11 x 9 x 2.5in / 27.5 x 22.5 x 6cm
Private Collection, Hatley, Quebec
2015
Materials: frame, oil paint, wood, brass, paper
found objects: teeth, bone, plastic, brass,
Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 1in / 20 x 20 x 2.5cm
2014
Private Collection, Tel Aviv
Sculpture, or so Barnett Newman opined, is what you bump into when you back up to view a painting. For me sculpture is anything that has three dimensions and is not a painting.
(for Steve Luxton, poet and friend)
Composition in wood #9
Materials: wood, found objects, brass, stain, varnish
Dimensions: 60 × 42 × 6cm / 24 × 17 × 2.5in
Weight: 740g / 26oz
November 2024
Shop here
Composition in Wood #8
Materials: pine wood, brass, gold leaf, found object, copper, stain, varnish
Dimensions: 12 x 7.5 x 1in / 30 x 19 x 2.5cm
Weight: oz / 430g
Sept 2024
Composition in wood #7
Materials: pine wood, brass, copper, stain, varnish
Dimensions: 8.5x6.5x1.5in / 21x16x4cm
Weight: 4.5oz / 126g
July 2024
Composition in wood #6.
The Good Ship Lollypop references the song of the same name sung by Shirley Temple in the 1938 film Bright Eyes.
Materials: pine wood, found objects, brass, copper, gold leaf, stain, varnish
Dimensions: 19x17x1.5in / 48x43x4cm
Weight: 18.5oz / 527g
July 2024
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Still life with flower. Composition in wood.
Materials: wood, brass, gold leaf, stain, varnish
Dimensions: 16x15x3in / 40.6x38.2x7.6cm
Weight: 240g
April 2024
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Composition in wood #3
Materials: wood, brass, found objects, wood stain, varnish
Dimensions: 24 x 14 x 1 in / 61 x 35.5 x 2.5 cm
Weight: 575gm
Feb. 2024
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This small work represents the separation of light – goodness/love - from darkness – evil/hate. The light, rising out of the depths banishes the darkness just as goodness and truth defeat evil and falsehood. One Day.
〰〰〰〰
On October 7, 2023, Shabbat Simhat Torah, we celebrated the end of the yearly cycle of weekly Torah readings. On that day a deep darkness was thrust upon the people of Israel, the Jewish people. The satanic, barbaric – there are no words – attacks by Hamas drew us all down into the murky depths of shock and horror, disgust and revulsion, anger and mourning. It was a Black Sabbath.
One week later, on October 14, 2023, Shabbat Bereshit, we began the weekly reading cycle anew with the story of creation. In Genesis 1:1-5 G-d created the heavens and the earth from the unformed chaos- tohu vavohu, separated light from darkness, saw that the light was good, and called it Day. This was the first day, Day One.
Materials: wood, brass, copper, stain, gold leaf, varnish
Dimensions: 20x11.4x1.5in / 50x29x3.75
Weight: 13oz / 390gm
2023
Private collection
Composition in wood #1
Materials: pine wood, brass, found objects, wood stain, varnish
Dimensions: 15.5 x 13.5 x 5in / 39 x 35 x 12.5cm
Sept 15, 2023
Private collection
View from right
Materials: copper, brass, aluminum, patina, epoxy resin, wood, nylon line
Dimensions: H: 30in/75cm x D: 9in/22.5cm
Dec 2022
Shop here
Materials: copper, brass, aluminum, wood, nylon line
Dimensions: H: 30in/75cm x D: 9in/22.5cm
Russian black bread is the stuff of legend. It is said that under the Nazi siege of the City of Leningrad residents had little more than black bread to eat for almost three and a half years. But what sustained a nation is also symbolic of its ultimate disintegration.
This crumbling half-loaf of Russian black bread is what remains of two loaves I bought while travelling to Leningrad, USSR in April 1984. It is a fitting symbol of the inner moral rot that brought the evil empire of Soviet Communism, that immiserated and slaughtered millions, to its ignominious end.
Materials: Russian black bread (Leningrad 1984), photograph Lenin statue (Leningrad 1984), wood, plywood, varnish, Plexiglass, lamps
Dimensions: 33 x 28 x 16cm / 13 x 11 x 6in
September 2020 - Elul 5781
Russian black bread is the stuff of legend. It is said that under the Nazi siege of the City of Leningrad residents had little more than black bread to eat for almost three and a half years. But what sustained a nation is also symbolic of its ultimate disintegration.
This crumbling half-loaf of Russian black bread is what remains of two loaves I bought while travelling to Leningrad, USSR in April 1984. It is a fitting symbol of the inner moral rot that brought the evil empire of Soviet Communism, that immiserated and slaughtered millions, to its ignominious end.
Materials: Russian black bread (Leningrad 1984), photograph Lenin statue (Leningrad 1984), wood, plywood, Plexiglass, lamps
Dimensions: 33 x 28 x 16cm / 13 x 11 x 6in
September 2020 - Elul 5781
Assembled from steam bent wooden slats the work takes advantage of the potential energy stored in the curved wood. When placed in the path of a good breeze the energy from the wind is transferred to the wood. The entire work vibrates, swaying back and forth and bouncing up and down. Good Vibrations.
Material: steam bent plywood slats, brass hardware, wooden egg, stain, varnish.
Dimensions variable: 34.5in x 20in / 86 x 50cm
2019
A non-word, a sound really, this space between thoughts this “Uh…” that forms such an integral part of everyday speech in almost any language is here portrayed as a concrete object. Letters in space with a dangling ‘h’.
Materials: found objects (aluminium letters, electric box) speaker, speaker wire, steel, braided copper rope, paint, tape player.
Sound content: Canadian PM B. Mulroney speaking to the press.
Dimensions: 21.5 x 6 x 5.5in / 54 x 15 x 12.5cm
2018
Materials: steam bent oak, brass hardware, Russian birch plywood, stain, wax, varnish.
Dimensions: 189 x 202.5 x 45cm / 72 x 81 x 18in
2015
soapstone
37.5 x 17.5 x 7.5cm / 15 x 7 x 3in
1990
Installation in situ, Peel Basin, Montreal 2008
aluminum wheel rims, steel, wood, whale bone, paint
390 x 90 x 62.5cm (156 x 38 x 25in)
2008
Installation in situ Peel Basin, Montreal
aluminum wheel rims, steel, wood, whale bone, paint
390 x 90 x 62.5cm / 156 x 38 x 25in)
2008
outer D: 90cm (36in).
inner D: 55-60cm (22-24in)
steel & aluminium wheel rims, whale bone, steel cable.
2006
The sound of bells
steel wheel rims, pipe, galvanized steel
dimensions variable:
H: 84in W: 72in
Rims: D: 36in
Private collection, Harrington Quebec
1998
steel piping, steel wheel rims, nylon line
Private Collection, Harrington, Quebec
1998
Disks (foreground):
D: 90cm (36in)
newspaper, hydrostone, speakers & sound (bees)
1991
Large Disk: D: 100cm (40in)
Wall of bricks:
120cm x 100 cm (48in x 40 in)
newspaper, hydrostone, speaker & sound (air raid siren)
1991
Disks (foreground):
D: 90cm (36in)
newspaper, hydro-stone, speakers & sound (bees)
Large Disk: D: 100cm (40in)
Wall of bricks:
120cm x 100 cm (48in x 40 in)
newspaper, hydro-stone, speaker & sound (air raid siren)
1991
dry pastel drawings
Dry pastel on paper
27 x 19 in / 69 x 49 cm
January 2021
Making my way early in the morning dawn before the winds pick up and the swells on the vast reservoir Gouin become impossible to navigate. A magical moment in time.
Dry pastel on paper
27 x 19 in / 69 x 49 cm
January 2021
Private Collection
Materials: dry pastel on Mayfair paper
Dimensions: 27 x 19.5in / 69 x 49.5cm
January 2021
Materials: dry pastel on Mayfair paper
Dimensions: 27 x 19.5in / 69 x 49.5cm
January 2021
Materials: dry pastel on Mayfair paper
Dimensions: 35 x 23in / 89 x 58.5cm
December 2020
Materials: dry pastel on Mayfair paper
Dimensions: 40 x 26in / 102 x 66cm
December 2020
Found objects in motion
A meditation on the three fundamental forms - circle, square, triangle - in motion.
Materials: steel, brass, whale bone, nylon fish line
Dimensions: 63 x 30 x 28in / 157.5 x 75 x 70cm
2015
E.K. Voland Gallery, Montreal, 2015
Some things are just out of our reach. It can’t be helped. But sometimes the object of our desire seems to get closer and then recede further away like a spiral dangling before us.
Mobile wall mounted sculpture.
Materials: wood, aluminium, caribou teeth, steel, nylon, stain
Dimensions variable: 32 x 17 x 3in / 80 x 42.5 x 7.5cm
2018
With Miles Davis
Materials: galvanized steel, copper, steel, brass, braided copper line
Dimensions:
D: 19in (47.5cm)
H: 31in (77.5)
2009
Sold to private collector
Materials: hand forged iron wheel rim, lead plumb, steel plate, brass tube, nylon fish line
Dimensions: variable. 42.5x12.5x43.75cm / 17x5x17.5in
2011
Materials: hand forged iron wheel rim, bronze, steel, steel plate, nylon line
Dimensions: variable.
Depth: 15in / 30.5cm
Height: 22in x 50cm
Width: 8in / 20cm
2012
Materials: hand forged iron wheel rim, whale bone, bronze, steel plate, nylon fish line
Dimensions: 42.5 x 12.5 x 43.75cm / 17 x 5 x 17.5in
2015
after Jasper Johns
Materials: oil paint on canvas, steel, rubber, glass, paper.
Dimensions:
Top: 112.5cm / 45in,
Bottom: 123.75cm / 49.5in
H: 40cm / 16in
2010
Private Collection
Materials: dry pastel on paper
Dimensions
Unframed: 40 x 26in / 101 x 66cm
Framed: 44 x 30in / 112 x 76cm
1999
89 x 110cm / 35.5 x 44in
dry pastel on paper
Private Collection
1996
We begin, on the left, with The One - The Aleph the source, a remote and ill-defined image in the darkness of the abyss - "tohu va vohu." (Genesis 1:1). The ouroboros is an ancient symbol of a serpent eating its own tail, signifying infinity and the cycle of birth and death. From this abyss is created the ordered world of daily life animated by the divine spirit.
89 x 110cm / 35.5 x 44in
dry pastel on paper
Private Collection
1998
אבה, איבה, אהבה
Ahavah, Aivah, Avah
The Aleph (א) - The One - is the source of all Love, Hate, and Desire. These are the three quintessential characteristics that drive most if not all human behavior. Tellingly, the three Hebrew words for Love, Hate and Desire all derive from the same three Hebrew letters: ‘aleph’ (א), ‘bet’ (ב) and ‘hey’ (ה) plus a 'yud' (י) for Hate. The sum of these four letters is 18 (א=1, ב=2, ה=5 & י=10) which, in Hebrew, spells חי –Life.
Dimensions: 195 x 100cm / 78 x 40in
Materials: dry pastel on paper
1998
Descent of the Incubus triptych was executed immediately following the massacre of fourteen women at the Polytechnic Institute at the University of Montreal in December 1989.
In Western medieval legend, an incubus was a demon in male form which lay on sleepers, especially on women in order to have sexual intercourse with them. The Incubus drained sexual energy from the woman in order to sustain itself, and in most cases either killed the victim or left the victim alive but in very weak or fragile condition.
90 x 75 cm (36 x 30 in)
mixed media on tarpaulin
1989
Descent of the Incubus triptych was executed immediately following the massacre of fourteen women at the Polytechnic Institute at the University of Montreal in December 1989.
In Western medieval legend, an incubus was a demon in male form which lay on sleepers, especially on women in order to have sexual intercourse with them. The Incubus drained sexual energy from the woman in order to sustain itself, and in most cases either killed the victim or left the victim alive but in very weak or fragile condition.
90 x 75cm / 36 x 30in
mixed media on tarpaulin
1989
Descent of the Incubus triptych was executed immediately following the massacre of fourteen women at the Polytechnic Institute at the University of Montreal in December 1989.
In Western medieval legend, an incubus was a demon in male form which lay on sleepers, especially on women in order to have sexual intercourse with them. The Incubus drained sexual energy from the woman in order to sustain itself, and in most cases either killed the victim or left the victim alive but in very weak or fragile condition.
90 x 75cm / 36 x 30in
mixed media on tarpaulin
1989
Materials: Mixed media, collage on tarpaulin.
Dimensions:
166.25 x 150 cm / 66.5 x 60 in
oil on canvas
1994
100 x 75cm / 40 x 30in
oil & varnish on canvas
1989
4.5 billion people worldwide involuntarily confined to within 100 meters of home.
Lockdown mask: oil paint on canvas
Lockdown Mask: collage on fabric on canvas
Lockdown Mask: collage on fabric on canvas
Lockdown Mask: collage on canvas
Lockdown Mask: collage on non-woven fabric
Skin is the best protection.
Lockdown Mask: glove leather with brass rivets
Lockdown Mask: oil paint on canvas
Yom HaZikaron: remembering all the sons and daughters that have given their lives so that we may live in peace and liberty in the Jewish State of Israel.
Lockdown Mask: oil paint on canvas
Lockdown Mask: natural
In the summer of 2006 I began to take long walks along the many meandering foot paths carved out of the hillside of Mount Royal in Montreal. After venturing out a number of times I came upon a small out-of-the-way hollow under an oak tree towering tall against the side of the mountain near the summit. It is one of those spots on the planet where work just seems to happen. I returned often during the course of the next two summers and autumns making use of the endless supply of stones and dead branches to produce the series you see here.
I brought the series to an end when, after completing the last one, Tree-tied, I discovered that the park authorities were systematically dismantling any and all such installations as I and others, as it happened, were creating. Which explained why they seemed to disappear so quickly after I made them. I can't say that I blame them but as I created form from the random distribution of the stones on the ground the Mount Royal Eco-Patrol set out to return the spot to a "natural" state of random disorder. It seems somehow ironic.
In memory of the fourteen women murdered at the Ecole Polytechnique at the Universite de Montreal in 1989.
Material: random stones Dimensions: variable
In memory of the fourteen women murdered at the Ecole Polytechnique at the Universite de Montreal in 1989.
Material: random stones | Dimensions: variable
In memory of the fourteen women murdered at the Ecole Polytechnique at the Universite de Montreal in 1989.
Material: random stones Dimensions: variable
stones, trees
900 x 240cm / 360 x 96in
2008
stones, trees
900 x 240cm / 360 x 96in
2008
stones, trees
900 x 240cm / 360 x 96in
2008
video
stones, trees
900 x 240cm / 360 x 96in
2008
In memory of my mother Z”L
stones
Mount Royal Park, Montreal
2008
In memory of my mother Z”L
stones
Mount Royal Park, Montreal
2008
In memory of my mother Z”L
stones
Mount Royal Park, Montreal
2008
after Marcel Duchamp
Three Standard Stoppages, according to Marcel Duchamp, was one of the key works in his development as an artist. He said, "In itself it was not an important work of art, but for me it opened the way -- the way to escape from those traditional methods of expression long associated with art. I didn't realize at the time what I had stumbled on. When you tap something, you don't always recognize the sound. That's apt to come later. For me the Three Standard Stoppages was a first gesture liberating me from the past."
(found in: tout-fait :The Marcel Duchamp Journal On-line, Issue 1/Vol1, December 1999)
Materials: 3 ply twine
Dimensions: variable
Materials: branches, twine
Dimensions: variable
2007
Materials: branches, twine
Dimensions: variable
2007
Materials: stones, branches, twine, tree
Dimensions: variable - circle D=120cm / 48in
Mount Royal Park, Montreal
2007
Materials: stones, branches, twine, tree
Dimensions: variable
Mount Royal Park, Montreal
2007
Materials: stones, branches, twine, tree
Dimensions: variable
Mount Royal Park, Montreal
2007
Materials: spruce deadfall
Dimensions: variable
Gouin Reservoir, Quebec
1996
Materials: spruce deadfall | Dimensions: variable
Gouin Reservoir, Quebec 1996
Materials: sand, clay, water
Dimensions: variable - 600 x 240 cm / 240 x 96 in
Gouin Reservoir, Quebec
1996
Materials: driftwood, tupperware, ribbon | Dimensions: 135 x 210 x 90cm / 4.5 x 7 x 3 ft
Simpson Island, North Shore Lake Superior
2002
Materials: driftwood, tupperware, ribbon | Dimensions: 135 x 210 x 90cm / 4.5 x 7 x 3 ft
Simpson Island, North Shore Lake Superior 2002
