An Israeli artist working in Tel Aviv, a curator based in London and an interior designer from Tokyo – these combined resulting in my sending a series of ceramic pieces I designed to Hong Kong for the Ritz Carlton hotel a few weeks ago.
I am always ambivalent about finishing a project. On one hand, there is no greater satisfaction than to see new works being packed and shipped. On the other hand, the same exact situation brings with it a melancholy feeling, like a deflated balloon when the party is over. After the last carrier left the studio with the last wooden box I found myself wandering about in the studio, unable to bring myself to work. I stopped, dimmed the lights and laid back on the studio's sofa. I had some magical afternoon hours, with a diagonal light illuminating a clean desk.
the first mock-up i sent to the interior designer in Tokyo
different kinds of gold samples
Those kinds of projects occupy me for way far more time than what is actually spent in the studio, physically working on them. This project challenged me in two aspects: the large scale dimensions of the objects and the global nature of the work process with the client being both in London and Tokyo. The professional relationship we established was full of mutual respect, I valued their overall point of view on the whole project and they respected my artistic point of view. They knew exactly what they wanted and yet they never told me "do such and such", they were interested in my own interpretation.
Even before the hotel opened, it already won several prices and got the highest rating of the chain's hotels (73 hotels and resorts in 24 countries). For general knowledge – the first Ritz hotel was established in Place Vendome in Paris in 1898 by the celebrated Swiss hotelier César Ritz. Even in his own lifetime he became a symbol – the king of hoteliers and the hotelier of kings. With the passing years the Ritz hotels became an international standard of luxury, style and most of all– impeccable service. Each waiter has a full suit for the daytime and a totally different suit for the evenings; chambermaids have white ties or pure white aprons, the hotels have gourmet restaurants of the highest quality and an exclusive décor.
The Ritz Carlton, Hong Kong - the highest hotel in the world
I designed a series of objects for the public area of the hotel, for its private dining area and for the hotel's bar. The objects are made out of rough ceramic clay. It is very complicated working with this clay, especially on the potter's wheel as I did with most of them. I don't want to get too graphic; I'll just say that after working on each of these objects I needed to heal from the "ultra-extra-deep peeling" the skin on my hands went through.
The vessels I made for the Ritz are the largest I have ever made. What limits the size of ceramic works is usually the kiln's size. It is not that I bought a new kiln for those works, but I made an extreme effort to maximize the potential of my existing kiln. I built inner constructions which supported the vessels and enable me to burn it in next-to-impossible angles.
The final result, as you can see in the pictures, is a series of objects with a rough finish and torn-like edges. Some of the objects were painted in black (on the exterior) and got the look and texture of basalt rock. If you add to it the gold and platinum explosions on the interior side of the works, you get an imagery of a volcano eruption. This is the origin of the serie's name – Volcano.
Diameter 84 cm, Height 76 cm
Diameter 83 cm, Height 23 cm
Diameter 65 cm, Height 65 cm
Diameter 84 cm, Height 76 cm
So the next time you go to Hong Kong, please stop by, go to the 102nd floor and have a glass of champagne, poured from a bottle resting in my own creation of a “champagne bowl”. Salute!
images of the new SAMY D. Volcano series form the Ritz Carlton hotel in Hong Kong
A window with a blooming lavender planter and view to the Mediterranean Sea, a muezzin's cry and the smell of home cooking. A picturesque view, arched windows and the oldest port in this part of the Mediterranean basin. More than a month ago we took leave of all that.
Jaffa view
After more than three years in which Yohai and I, with two cats and a dog, lived in Jaffa's Ajami neighborhood, it was time to move on. We wrapped wine glassed with old newspapers, piled boxes atop each other, sat on suitcases to close them and headed to our new home in 'Qiriyat Hamelacha' (the 'handicrafts campus') a neighborhood in south Tel Aviv.
The farewell from Jaffa was full of mixed fillings. On one hand – there was no doubt we would miss the pastoral ambiance and the unique atmosphere of Jaffa. On the other hand – the physical distance from Tel Aviv and the different social codes came to be a bit tiring. Tel Aviv-Jaffa (the official name of the metropolitan municipality) joins two cities with one little hyphen. This metaphoric hyphen embodies so many differences, contradiction and gaps, in so many aspects of life, all at the same time, and it is exactly what makes Tel Aviv-Jaffa such a fascinating place. The return to the Tel Avivian side of the hyphen surprised us both in its intensity. The ability to leave home together in the morning and say goodbye with a kiss and the distance to everywhere which became significantly shorter feel more right for us now.
Jaffa was truly our home for a few years. After we acclimated to the neighborhood, and after the neighborhood acclimated to us, Jaffa showed us its beautiful side (most of the time, Ramadan aside, than the all rules change). I enjoyed immensely the walks with the dog on Saturday mornings all the way to the new park by Jaffa's beach. I used to stop over at the local bakery, picking up some fresh baked Pitas seasoned with some local olive oil and hyssop.
For those of you who know Jaffa, for those who enjoy reading about different places, and for those who plan a trip to Tel Aviv-Jaffa and want some local information that would not be written in your travel guide, I wrote the list that follows. I divided the list into four different areas of town: Ajami - center and south, northern Ajami and the old port, flea market area, and Old Jaffa. I tried to make this list the most personal; I'll leave the tourists places for the tour guides and invite you to my Jaffa.
Falafel on Saturday morning – right across the corner from where we used to live there are 2 families making homemade Falafel on Saturday mornings (one on Emmunim St., the other on Even-Sinna St. you can just follow the smell, it's delicious). Fresh pita, sliced tomato and falafel balls (more of a patty than the usual ball) full of flavor. The good life, the good life in a pita.
Um- Ali – the neighborhood's greengrocer, a lovely and tolerant lady. Aside from pears, tomatoes and any other familiar vegetables she has many herbs and roots that I did not know even exist. Some would say that her pricing is correlated to the car you park on the curve in front, some would say that the brown part of the banana is not rotten but 'Baladi' (the local version of organic), but there is no one like Um-Ali when it comes to choosing the best watermelon or for the best olives (she sells them by the cashier).
typical Ajami street corner
Stuffed Grape leaves – Jaffa for the advanced. Personally, I know those of Noel (from Kedem St.) but she is not the only one. You give her an empty pot in any size and color and two days later you get it back full of grape leaves stuffed with rice rolled perfectly, with an accuracy of a Buddhist monk on Ritalin.
Hamidron Park (“the slope park”) – it is true that once it was a neighborhood, it is true that in the 80's the place turned to be a construction waste site, it is also true that the development of the park was accelerated when many Israeli Jews moved to Jaffa – but the bottom line is that it is very very beautiful.
I followed the different stages of the new park's development. In the beginning, the hills of construction waste were made out of colorful tiles, ceramic electric fuses and even everyday's household items which cried out the story of the obliterated neighborhood. The time passing, the salty air and giant grinding machines transformed the broken pieces of life to high hills of sand and gravel. From one weekend to another the hills moved and slid to their final position of curvaceous slopes having an abundance of intimate hideaways and vast public spaces. There is even one spot in which Tel Aviv from one side and Bat-Yam on the other are hidden from the eye and all one can see is more than 180 degrees of blue touching blue.
The new park by Jaffa's beach
Derech-Hagouf – in a small turn from Kedem St. (3 Menuha St.) you can find the Jaffa-chic wellness center Derech-Haguf. Once in a few months I go there for an Ayurvedic massage from one of the best - Marian Schwaitzer. After the treatment you can sit on the small terrace facing the sea and drink cold tamarind juice. On my last birthday, a few weeks ago, I put my back muscles to Marian's practiced hands – so he could dismantle me gently.
Northern Ajami and the old port
Fried Calamari – Misedet Hadayagim (“The Fishermen's Restaurant). Located on a prime location, at the very end of the Jaffa port. Except for a quick visit to the bathroom, it never crossed my mind to sit inside the restaurant and not outside on the water front. It also never crossed my mind to order anything other than a huge pile of fried Calamari and a pint of beer. Fresh calamari, full of frying oil that tastes like heaven.
Cookies in the window – on the end of Hatzedef St. (one of the most beautiful streets) there is a house with a little window facing the street. From the little window you can smell from a distance the home baking of sweet and salty cookies. I must admit I had never actually bought some, I bake my own at home or buying at Margoza (read about in the next section of town), but it makes a lovely and romantic stop when touring Jaffa.
The window in action
Abu Hassan Humus – Personally, I am not a huge humus fan, but I know people who speak about their favorite humus with a loving gaze in their eyes and with an almost religious conviction that their favorite humus joint is the best in town. Abu Hassan in Hadolfin St. is one of the best known humus restaurants in Tel Aviv. I used to go by there on my way to work. 8:30 AM – I am just starting my day and people already standing in line for their morning Humus with boiled egg. To be honest – way too much for me.
Humus lovers take their humus outside
Dvir Gallery – every few months, in Hangar no. 2 in the old Jaffa port, there is an interesting art exhibition at Dvir Gallery (a branch of Dvir Gallery from Tel Aviv). Those days there is a simple and fascinating exhibition titled Lichtkeile by Miroslaw Balka. Twirled Perspex slabs hanging from the ceiling and making magic with the sun light. So simple yet so hypnotizing.
“Shuk Hapishpishim” Flea Market Area
Margoza – At any given period of time, I have my preferred local café where I stop on my way to the studio for coffee and croissant or a sandwich. It changes each time my way from home to the studio changes. While I was walking from home in Jaffa to the studio in Abulafia St. (the current location), each morning, may it be cold outside or deadly hot, I had my coffee in the small and lovely Margoza bakery (24 Margoza St.). The place is opened by the husband and wife team of Michal and Tzafrir Dahan.
One of the best things to have there is a small wonder named chouquettes We are talking about a small, thin crusted cream puff, garnished with sugar crystals and filled with fresh air from the Alps (not really). 20 chouquettes in a Cellophane bag tied with a ribbon and the world looks much better. Beyond that the different breads are great, the baguettes are authentic and the dried fruit cake is exceptional, a weekend without it is not quite a weekend.
Lauri Recanati's studio – almost a year ago I wrote about the mosaic artist and dear friend Lauri Recanati. Her studio in Rabi Hanina St. is one of the more magical places in the neighborhood. What was a pickles factory (!) over 300 years ago became, under Lauri's sophisticated and loving hand, the local branch of heaven. A charming studio with romantic yard, mosaic art works and giant bins full of colorful raw materials in any color and texture you can imagine.
Visit by appointment, find out the details in her website.
12 Rabi Hanina St. Jaffa
Lauri Recanati in her fabulous Jaffa studio
Fresh baked bread from Charcuterie bar – many know by now the Charcuterie restaurant. Less know about the bar down the same street as the main restaurant, even less know about the wonders of the bread they bake there. If you ask hard enough they will even sell you a loaf to go. Extra hard crust and soft and airy on the inside. There is only one problem with it; by the time you get back home half of it is gone.
3 Rabi Hanina St. Jaffa
The Old city
The old city's area was the center of town for centuries. It was badly damaged when Napoleon conquered it and was rebuilt in the early 19th century. The last renovations were done by four Israeli leading architects in the early1960's (Yaacov Saar, Seadia Mendel, Yona Pitelson and Eliezer Frenkel). The best way to experience the old city is just wandering the magical little streets named after the zodiac signs. Usually when I wander the streets of old Jaffa I try to imagine future times when the area might be vibrant again. The try to make it an artist's district did not really catch up, but I believe in the great potential of the place and sure that one day it would be alive.
When you take the tour in Old Jaffa, do not miss the Ilana Goor museum.
Ilana Goor Museum - located in the property with the most beautiful view in all of Jaffa. It is a life project of very appreciated and loved woman. Ilana Gur is a controversial image that creates, collects and exhibits the art she loves. I hope to write a post about her soon.
Hope you enjoyed the ride in the streets of my Jaffa. If you have any nice experiences or special site you want to share, please leave a comment. And next time you're in town – don't be a stranger.
Bird migration, major holidays, birthdays – all things that indicate the passage of time. Another occasion of that kind is the annual Israeli art exhibition – Imagination, going on for the 12th time this year. This annual show, sponsored by HaPoalim Bank, is a fundraiser for the Israeli AIDS task force. For one weekend, the main branch of the bank transfer itself to a beautiful, seven stories high exhibition space. More than 650 Israeli artists donate their best works for this noble cause, last year more than 1,200,000 NIS were raised.
My older sister died from this horrible disease in 1988 and since then I am involved in the Israeli AIDS Task Force's work. In recent years I am not an active member but appreciate the opportunity I have to assist with my art works.
Family Tree (2011) - my donation for this year's exhibition
In the past few shows I donated my premiere pieces from several series of works. In 2007 I donated the first work from the HETOME series, in 2008 the first work from the Querelle series and in 2009 the first of Memories series. This year I am also donating a first work from a new series – Family Tree.
CANTO IV - HETOME series 200x70 cm (2007)
Livre Blanc - Querelle series 90x90 cm (2008)
Memories 12/09 - Memories series 120x120 cm (2009)
You may see all the art works exhibited and sold on the exhibition's website, which will be updated only on the morning of the exhibition's opening on February 18th. In the meanwhile you can enjoy the works that were exhibited over the last two years. The art works that will not be sold at the exhibition's opening will be sold online on the exhibition's website.
Hope to see you there and I wish continued good health for all of us!
Imagination 2011 – Bank Hapoalim (main branch) 63 Yehuda Halevy St. Tel Aviv
18.2.2011 – Opening Gala
19.2.2011 Saturday 19:00-23:00
Not all of you know, but this blog is usually being written as a sonata for 4 hands. The voice is Samy's the “handwriting” is mine, Yohai's.
Samy and I have lived together for almost six years now, and for the last four we have been working together as well. In American English it sounds even better – we are proud to be life and business partners. And yet mixing family and business is always complicated and many advised us not to do it. All the clichés about mixing business with pleasure and on and on but we can handle complicated and, when it does work – it works well.
A few months ago I came across a video about two chocolatiers, the Mast brothers who look almost exactly the same - Brooklyn hipsters with the same red haired beard. Aside from what looks like the high quality chocolate they manufacture, they talk in the video about why you should go to business with a family member. They say that "there is no body that you are going to fight harder with than your family, but there is no body you are going to fight harder for than your family".
having fun in Chicago, when we participated in SOFA 2007
On the first day of working together in the studio we went out to lunch. I was deeply moved by Samy's gesture of putting a sign on the gallery's door – 'WE will be back soon'. A small gesture but so perfectly executed. Even though the new beginning was very exciting, at the same time it was not simple to handle at all. The physical space that the gallery and studio shared was quite small and for years it had been used by only Samy himself. Then, just like that, in one day, the staff (and occupants) of SAMY D. was doubled. We needed to rearrange the shared space, both literary and metaphorically. I am not exaggerating when I say that it took us almost a year and quite a bit of couples therapy to adjust and share the room and the responsibilities.
Samy and I on an opening of an exhibition in Shorashim gallery in Tel Aviv
And then, we found our rhythm. For several years (up until just recently) we used to leave the house together in the morning, walk from Jaffa to Neve Tzedek along the beach together, spend our working hours together under the same lights, focused on the same goal and by the end of the day doing the same way back to Jaffa - by all means, a very intense relationship.
our way to work from Jaffa to Neve-Tzedek, Tel Aviv
Our mutual hard work allowed us to grow the business and rent an additional space, a much larger and brighter working studio. All of a sudden, after four years of being together 24/7, we found ourselves saying 'good bye and have a nice day at work' to each other in the morning and meeting again in the evening. Still focused on the same goal, but separately. Our close circle of friends thought it was a wonderful idea – now you can miss each other, breath a little, change the atmosphere.
The changes in the atmospheric pressure were more severe than we (or I) expected, it even caused a metaphoric dizziness. In retrospect, the current change required much more intense preparations and inner work than the first change, when we just started working together. The 'separation of forces' was a complicated and painful process which we have yet to complete (but we're working on it). The physical distance from the creative process which takes place at the studio, and the distance from the man I love confronted me with some challenging circumstances.
All this personal exposure, which I am not accustomed to, is brought to your reading eyes in order to share with you a short video I edited. Two or three posts ago, we shared with you a magazine story, featuring the home we used to live in at the time (irony at its best – the day after we uploaded the post we were notified that we need to look for a new home). The article's title was – "What I love about Samy D.". It quoted something I said about the 'souls' of the dishes we have at home (all SAMY D., don't get confused). Since then, I have been thinking about the title.
In theory, for me it is supposed to be the easiest to say what I love about SAMY D. (and let's differentiate for a minute 'Samy' the man and 'SAMY D.' the brand). It is not only that I sell his art at the gallery but I am eating and drinking out of it at home. When the studio and gallery shared the same space I experienced almost all the stages of manufacturing (and miss it a lot). The first time I saw Samy in daylight was when I came to visit him at the studio, he was working on the wheel, and I, like Patrick Swayze in the movie Ghost, was swept away. After thinking about it for some time I came to the allegedly obvious conclusion – what I love about SAMY D. is exactly what I love about Samy. The multiplicity, the diversity and abundance, the fact that he can do with his own hands everything he wishes with grace, tons of talent and originality.
