Art Zone: Amidst Swords of Iron by Litvak Contemporary

Art Zone:

Amidst Swords of Iron

Art Zone: Amidst Swords of Iron Litvak Contemporary, November 2023 Catalogue editor: Orit Ephrat-Moscovitz Design: Inbar Dekel Photography: Youval Hai (Elad Kopler & Installation images); Shai Halevi (Sara Benninga); Terry Rishel (Dale Chihuly); Lilith Chambon (Lilith Chambon); Norbert Heyl (Lucio Bubacco); Avraham Hay and Yona Schley (Václav Cigler, Julius Weiland), Eli Singalovski (Elad Kopler & Dale Chihuly Installation image)

Litvak Contemporary in collaboration with Litvak Gallery

Artists Contemporary Israeli Collection: Elad Kopler Tsibi Geva Daniel Enkaoua Sara Benninga Itamar Freed Lilith Chambon

Contemporary Glass Collection: Dale Chihuly Vaclav Cigler Julius Weiland Lucio Bubacco Bertil Vallien Yoichi Ohira

In these challenging times, where we’ve been thrust into this dreadful “Swords of Iron” war and are constantly surrounded by the haunting echoes and visions of kidnapped children, women, and elderly civilians, fervently hoping for their safe return, we present this classic collection of artworks as a means of escape. A handpicked selection of Israeli artists alongside international glass artists dispersing beauty and hope. In the turmoil of war, art becomes a sanctuary—a refuge that offers a brief respite from the harsh realities of conflict—these paintings and sculptures serve as a pathway to a world where the mind can transcend the chaos, discovering moments of tranquillity and beauty. They become a channel for expressing emotions, preserving culture, and reminding individuals of the humanity that surpasses the conflict. Through the creation and experience of art, people find solace, a space where the imagination can thrive, providing a glimpse of hope and a semblance of normalcy amid the chaos of war. We invite you to browse our timeless classic collection and, when you find that perfect piece, know that your purchase is a powerful gesture of support for the artistic community in Israel. In addition, we will donate 10% of the proceeds to citizens evacuated from their homes near the Gaza border. Contact us and make a difference. Hoping for peace and better days. Sincerely, Orit Ephrat Moscovitz Gallery Director

Elad Kopler (b. Israel, 1974)

Elad Kopler is an Israeli painter renowned for his large-scale abstract paintings. Throughout his career, Kopler’s artistic style has undergone significant transformation, shifting from figurative urban-apocalyptic landscape paintings to vibrant abstract works that explore the realm of emotional and mental landscapes. A main quality in his works is the deep emotions his color combinations evoke. His current body of work is marked by the interplay between abstract and figurative elements of deserted landscapes, reflecting the ongoing battle between logical reasoning and emotional states of beingintricate dialogue in which contradictory values coexist – physical enjoyment and spiritual elevation, unruliness and sophistication, attraction to another and fear of intimacy and attachment. In his most recent works, Kopler employs a dialogue between grids and frames and expressive brushwork to invigorate the tension between order and chaos within his art.

His creations grapple with questions about the nature of painting itself, the transition from two dimensions to three, the sculptural and structural qualities of painting, as well as the interplay of shadow, light, and the impact of color combinations. Concepts, eras, gestures, materials, and colors coalesce to craft multi-dimensional paintings that draw inspiration from modern abstract painters like De Kooning, Pollock, and Mondrian, as well as the contemporary artist such as Sean Scully. Elad Kopler’s artworks grace collections around the world, including the Tel Aviv Museum for Contemporary Art Collection (Israel); The Petach Tikva Museum of Art Collection (Israel); Bank Ha’poalim Collection (Israel); the Philip Hofer Collection (NY, USA); Sam & Yael Bacharach Collection (NY, USA), and various private collections.

Inquire

Elad Kopler, Untitled, 2014, Acrylic on canvas, 32 1/4 x 41 1/4 in. (82 x 105 cm) $5,500.00

Inquire

Elad Kopler, Untitled, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 45 1/4 x 39 in (115 x 99 cm) $6,500.00

Inquire

Elad Kopler, Untitled, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 62 15/16 x 49 9/16 in (160 x 126 cm) $13,000.00

Inquire

Elad Kopler, Untitled, 2022, oil and acrylic on canvas, 59 3/8 x 83 3/8 in. (151 x 212 cm) $21,000.00

Tsibi Geva (b. Israel, 1951)

Born in Kibbutz Ein Shemer, Israel, Geva lives and works in Tel Aviv and New York. The objects that Geva paints are directly related to social, political and cultural context. The painted object seeks to point out not only the object itself but to understand it in a critical context and as an approach the artist is taking a in the public sphere. Each piece stands on its own but forms part of a series and connects with the political, local and cultural context. Since 1979 he has exhibited extensively worldwide. Solo exhibitions include the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (1984); Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston (1985); Tel Aviv Museum (1988); Haifa Museum, Haifa (2003); Tel Aviv Museum (2008); The American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC (2013); MACRO Testaccio, Rome (2014) and Mönchenhaus – Museum of Modern Art, Goslar (2015) and the Israeli Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale (2015).

His works are included at major public and private collections, among them, The MoMA Collection, NY; The Jewish Museum, New York ; Rothfeld Collection, American University Museum, Washington DC; Museum on the Seam, Jerusalem; Tel Aviv Museum of Art; The Phoenix collection; Annina Nosei, NY; Arturo Schwartz, Italy; Donald Rothfeld, NY; Joshoua Gessel, Zurich; Michael Recanati, NY; Monique and Max Burger, Zurich. Geva is a professor at the School of Visual Arts, MFA program, NY; the University of Haifa, and Hamidrasha School of Art, Beit Berl College, Israel. He is the recipient of numerous awards and grants, including the Sandberg Prize from The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; the Mendel and Eva Pundik Foundation Prize from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israeli Ministry of Culture.

Inquire

Tsibi Geva, Flower, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 47 1/8 in. (178 x 120 cm) $30,000.00

Inquire

Tsibi Geva, The Crow from Rembrandt Street, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 59 x 78 5/8 in. (150 x 200 cm) $32,000.00

Daniel Enkaoua (b. France, 1962)

Daniel Enkaoua, an artist known for his dedication to the art of observation, has consistently explored figures, still life, and landscapes throughout his career. His work is characterized by a captivating blur that invites viewers to ponder the essence of his subjects. Enkaoua’s paintings, set against infinite backgrounds, transcend specific context and time, offering a timeless and universally resonant quality, thus responding both to impressionism and expressionism, classic and contemporary art. Enkaoua’s work has been recognized and showcased in solo and group exhibitions, in museums and galleries around the world, including the Montserrat Museum, Spain, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, the Sophienholm Museum, Lyngby, Denmark, the Museet for Religious Kunst, Denmark , Fundacio Vila Casas, Barcelona, Spain and the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, Marlborough Fine Art, London, UK, Marlborough Fine Art, USA, Galerie Albrecht, Germany and Litvak Contemporary, Tel Aviv.

Enkaoua has lived in Jerusalem from 1982 and until 2004, where he gained his artistic education in Bezalel, Academy of Arts and Design and Avni Art Institute. Currently he lives and works in Barcelona, Spain. Enkaoua has been the recipient of various awards including the BP Portrait Award 2010, National Portrait Gallery, London, and the Prix Société des Bains de Mer, Monte Carlo, Monaco. His works are kept in collections worldwide including the collection of the Israel Museum Jerusalem (Israel); The Vera, Silvia and Arturo Schwarz Collection of Israeli Art (Israel); The Doron Sebbag Art Collection, (Israel); the Röling Collection, (Netherlands); the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation ESKFF, NY (USA), the Montserrat Museum, Spain, Fundacio Vila Casas, Spain, the Museet for Religious Kunst Denmark and more.

Inquire

Daniel Enkaoua, Aure assise vue de haut, 2017-2020, oil on canvas, 70 x 40 1/8 in. (178 x 102 cm) Please contact for price

Inquire

Daniel Enkaoua, Liel de profil assis torse nu, 2022-2023, oil on canvas, 76 3/4 x 51 1/8 in. (195 x 130 cm) Please contact for price

Inquire

Daniel Enkaoua, Natan en vert vu de haut, 2022, oil on canvas, 25 1/2 x 24 3/8 in. (65 x 62 cm) €22,000.00

Inquire

Daniel Enkaoua, Aure les cheveux longs, oil on canvas mounted on wood, 17 5/8 x 13 in. (45 x 33.3 cm) €13,000.00

Inquire

Daniel Enkaoua, Natan et la capuche, oil on canvas mounted on wood, 39 3/8 x 39 3/8 in. (100.3 x 100.2 cm) €30,000.00

Sara Benninga (b. Israel, 1983)

Focusing on the exploration of the tension between various visual elements like figures and patterns, dynamics and interplay, Sara Benninga seeks to examine how these components contribute to the narrative within an artwork, and whether such a narrative even exists. Her canvases depict complex scenes featuring multiple figures engaged in dance or physical interactions. Benninga works in large scale as well as lower scale, in diverse mediums of painting, and drawing from varied sources of inspiration, she asks how images and forms are linked to content. She draws inspiration from a blend of sources, including art history, direct observation, and her own imagination, creating a mixture that prompts viewers to question and contemplate the events portrayed on the canvas.

Benninga’s artistic influences span different eras in art history, encompassing classical, neo-classical, and contemporary artists such as George Baselitz, Dana Schutz, and Alice Neel. Benninga has held solo exhibitions at Litvak Contemporary, Tel Aviv; Maya Gallery, Tel Aviv; and Tal Gallery, Kfar Vradim. She has also participated in a duo exhibition at the Museum on the Seam in Jerusalem and numerous group exhibitions. Sara Benninga is an art history lecturer at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Her educational background includes a Ph.D. in art history from the Hebrew University (2017), a BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design (2012), an MA in art history from the Hebrew University (2009), and a BA in art history and literature from Tel Aviv University (2006).

Inquire

Sara Benninga, Swimmers 2, 2023, Charcoal, dry pastel, graphite, acrylic on canvas, 78 5/8 x 50 in. (200 x 127 cm) $6,300.00

Inquire

Sara Benninga, Swimmer, 2023, acrylic and dry pastel on canvas, 66 7/8 x 53 1/8 in. (170 x 135 cm) $5,400.00

Inquire

Sara Benninga, Changes, 2019, oil on canvas, 78 5/8 x 59 in. (200 x 150 cm) $6,300.00

Inquire

Sara Benninga, Three, 2021, oil on canvas, 19 5/8 x 15 5/8 in. (50 x 40 cm) $3,000.00 (frame included)

Itamar Freed (b. USA, 1987)

Itamar Freed’s photographic works delve into the essence of authenticity within the natural world. His practice explores three distinct realms: the untamed and uninhabited natural habitat, the urban cultural landscape, and deliberately staged environments. Freed’s focus lies in representation and the transformative impact images can have on our perception and recollection of places. He is particularly intrigued by the disappearance of landscapes and the evolving concept of authenticity, be it in the guise of simulated environments or digital photographs of uncertain veracity. In addition to his solo pursuits, Freed collaborates with Canadian artist Kristina Chan as part of an artistic duo.

Freed lives and works across Brisbane, London, Tel Aviv, and New York. His work has gained international recognition through showcases in solo and group exhibitions at esteemed venues such as the Museum of London’s London Nights, the Royal Academy in London, the Royal Photographic Society in Bristol, TATE Modern’s Offprint TATE, BEERS London Gallery (solo show), the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, Pulse Miami, Volta New York, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair in London, Grosvenor House, Christie’s Auction House, Hancock Gallery in Newcastle, Photo LA, NordArt in Germany, Litvak Contemporary, Photo Israel, Haifa Museum of Art, Ramat Gan Museum of Art, FireWorks Gallery in Brisbane, and the Untitled Art Fair in Miami Beach. In 2023 His mutual work with Kristina Chan was exhibited in Photo London art fair.

Inquire

Itama Freed, Red View, 2014, Inkjet print on archival paper, 39 1/4 x 59 in. (100 x 150 cm), Edition 4/5 $5,100.00

Inquire

Itama Freed, Pawpaw Tree, 2020, Inkjet print on archival paper, 43 1/4 x 29 1/2 in. (110 x 75 cm), Edition 1/5 $3,700.00

Inquire

Itama Freed, A New Tree, 2023, inkjet pigment print on archival Kozo Japanese paper, 43 1/4 x 52 1/4 in. (110 x 133 cm), Edition 1/5 $4,400.00

Inquire

Itama Freed, Blue Flowers, 2017, Inkjet print on archival paper, 35 3/8 x 23 1/2 in. (90 x 60 cm), Edition 2/5 $3,000.00

Lilith Chambon (b. Israel, 1969)

Lilith Chambon is an emerging abstract landscape painter and textile artist recognized for her use of vibrant colors to depict natural scenes. Her artistic approach is rooted in a deep comprehension of color and its impact on perception and emotions.

Chambon’s artistic journey extends beyond her painting career. In 2007, she developed a unique television series that seamlessly integrated textiles and animation, which was showcased at the MIP content festival in Cannes, France.

Chambon’s work is characterized by her use of vivid pigments and extensive color surfaces, which she blends in her studio. Her aim is to harmonize with the contemporary allure of digital screens and their vibrant colors.

Her academic foundation in textile design, earned between 1991 and 1994 at Shenkar, serves as a solid backdrop to her artistic pursuits, enriching her approach to color, texture, and form in her works.

Between 2010 and 2015, Chambon participating in a Master Class at ‘HaTachana’ School, a studio specializing in figurative painting and drawing, under the guidance of artists Aram Gershuni and David Nipo. Furthermore, she imparts her knowledge through painting masterclasses at the ‘Atelier’ school for sculpture, painting, and drawing at Minshar School of Art.

Inquire

Lilith Chambon, Winding, 2023, oil on canvas, 55 x 63 in. (140 x 160 cm) $6,700.00

Inquire

Lilith Chambon, Untitled, 2023, oil on canvas, 66 7/8 x 51 1/8 in. (170 x 130 cm) $7,800.00

Inquire

Lilith Chambon, Untitled, 2022, oil on canvas, 23 1/2 x 19 5/8 in. (60 x 50 cm) $1,300.00

Inquire

Lilith Chambon, Untitled, 2022, oil on canvas, 15 5/8 x 11 3/4 in. (40 x 30 cm) $1,200.00

Dale Chihuly (b. USA, 1941)

Dale Chihuly was introduced to glass while studying interior design at the University of Washington. After graduating in 1965, Chihuly enrolled in the first glass program in the country, at the University of Wisconsin. He continued his studies at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), where he later established the glass program and taught for more than a decade.

His lifelong fascination for glasshouses has grown into a series of exhibitions within botanical settings. The Garden Cycle began in 2001 at the Garfield Park Conservatory, Chicago, and continued at several locations, among them the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London, in 2005 and 2019; the New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, in 2006 and 2017; and Gardens by the Bay, Singapore, in 2021.

In 1968, after receiving a Fulbright Fellowship, he went to work at the Venini glass factory in Venice. There he observed the team approach to blowing glass, which is critical to the way he works today.

Chihuly has exhibited at other venues including de Young Museum, San Francisco, in 2008; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2011; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, in 2012; Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, in 2013; Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, in 2016; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, in 2017; Groninger Museum, Groningen, the Netherlands, in 2018; and Artis—Naples, The Baker Museum, Naples, Florida, in 2020. Chihuly Garden and Glass, a major long-term exhibition, opened in Seattle in 2012.

In 1971, Chihuly cofounded Pilchuck Glass School in Washington State. With this international glass center, Chihuly has led the avant-garde in the development of glass as a fine art. His work is included in more than 200 museum collections worldwide. He has been the recipient of many awards, including two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and thirteen honorary doctorates.

Inquire

Dale Chihuly, Golden Yellow Macchia with Turquoise Blue Lip Wrap, 1995, Glass, 24 x 32 x 29 in. (61 x 81.28 x 73.66 cm) Please contact for price

Inquire

Dale Chihuly, Burnt Orange and Sandstone Macchia Set 86.1416.m7, 1986, Glass, 14 x 32 x 24 in. (35.56 x 81.28 x 60.96 cm) Please contact for price

Václav Cigler, (b. Czechia, 1929)

Vaclav Cigler acquired a reputation in the 1960s for geometrical objects made from cut solid optical glass. Light played a crucial role in these, reflected along the edges and in the fissures of the glass. In the next decade his search for new ideas and ways of realising them led him to move beyond work dominated by aesthetic concerns. Rather than disrupting the unity of a block by means of reflections, he began exploring the kind of interplay between interior and exterior spaces possible only with transparent glass. He was soon taking this approach to its logical conclusion, incorporating other materials, embracing large formats and developing ideas for pieces in urban and natural settings. One of these employed a series of shiny glass and metal diagonals to map out the space of a theatre foyer. Another consisted of a trail of glass and light inserted into a street so as to create a contrast between reality and the seemingly unreal.

Cigler’s work and installations have been displayed in Europe, North America and Asia. His work is included in numerous prominent collections, including Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York; Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Ebeltoft, Denmark; Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg in Cobug, Germany; Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, France; Slovakian National Gallery in Bratislava, Slovakia and Victoria & Albert Museum in London, England. Cigler is the recipient of numerous honors, including the 1968 Prize for Decorative Art of the Union of Czechoslovakian Fine Artists and Honorary Prize at the 1985 Zweiter Coburger Glaspreis in Coburg, Germany.

Inquire

Vaclav Cigler, Clear Pyramid, 2009, optical glass, 13 x 11 x 8 1/4 in. (33.02 x 28 x 21 cm), Ed. 1/6 Please contact for price

Inquire

Vaclav Cigler, Sphere I, optical glass, 2011, 9 x 15 5/16 x 9 in. (23 x 39 x 23 cm), Edition 3/6 Please contact for price

Lucio Bubacco, (b. Italy,1957)

Lucio Bubacco was born on the beautiful island of Murano, near Venice, in April 1957. Commonly referred to as the Glass Island, Murano provided Lucio with the inspiration and techniques that have set him above and beyond his common contemporaries.

Today Lucio Bubacco is considered a master of his craft. His technical knowledge and experience, combined with his natural aptitude for glass handling and artistry, have helped him transcend the limited confines of the “lume” process and catapulted him into a world-class artist.

He has given life to an art form uniquely his own using the traditional Venetian lampworking technique in which a blowtorch heats canes of glass. Lucio Bubacco is one of only a select minority who use the lampworking technique for true artistic expression.

Lucio’s work has been globally displayed in exhibitions, from Florida to Tokyo., in the last nineteen years. He has won several awards, including the famed Kristallnacht International Glass Competition in Philadelphia. He has been written about in various publications, always highlighting his outstanding achievements and unique sensibilities

His incomparable work is proudly displayed in significant private and public collections throughout the world. Litvak Gallery is proud to handle the timeless works of such an unsurpassed virtuoso.

Inquire

Lucio Bubacco, Infernal Dreams and Music of the Angels, 2009, Glass, 37 3/8 x 11 3/8 x 11 3/8 in. (95 x 29 x 29 cm) $ 34,000.00

Inquire

Lucio Bubacco, Mythology (Romantic No. 15): Eros and Psyche, 2009, Glass, 17 3/8 x 8 5/8 x 4 3/4 in. (44 x 22 x 12 cm) $ 20,000.00

Inquire

Lucio Bubacco, Eternal Temptation Variation: Infernal Dreams No. 2 (Red Vase), 2009, Glass, 34 5/8 x 7 7/8 x 7 7/8 in. (88 x 20 x 20 cm) $ 28,000.00

Inquire

Lucio Bubacco, Chromatic Variation No. 3 - Laocoon, 2009, Glass, 17 5/8 x 9 3/4 x 5 in. (45 x 25 x 13 cm) $ 20,000.00

Julius Weiland, (b. Germany,1971)

Julius Weiland was born in Lübeck in 1971. From 1995 to 2000 he studied industrial design under Katsuhito Nishikawa and Ann Wolff at the Hamburg Art Academy, attended the Pilchuck Glass School at Stanwood, near Seattle, and completed periods of practical training in Swedish glass factories. He finished his studies in 2001 with a diploma from the Hamburg Academy and then set up as an independent artist in Berlin. Weiland’s glass sculptures reflect the profound influence of the studio glass movement. Over time, he has adeptly mastered a myriad of glass production techniques, including blowing and casting, as well as collaging and bricolage with pre-manufactured glass elements. The resultant fused glass objects emanate a captivating vitality, as if imbued with a life force of their own. Besides his glass sculptures he is also working two-dimensional. The dialogue between painting and glass objects is fascinating and shows how these two genres from the hand of the same artist harmonize with one another.

A special trademark of Weiland’s art is his sensitive sense of color. His artistic work is based on the themes of movement, light and color, which he combines until a new composition is developed that creates new harmonies. Julius Weiland has received notable international recognition, including the Biennale du Verre de Colombes, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire Colombes, France (01 Apr – 15 Jul 2023), Jutta CunyFranz Award, 2011; Jutta Cuny-Franz Award Supporting Prize, 2007; honourable mention at the prestigious, 2006; Coburger Glas Preis and Gold Medal at the 2004 International Exhibition of Glass in Kanazawa, Japan. Weiland’s work is featured in many European public collections including the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, UK, Cisternerne Museum for Modern Glass Art in Copenhagen, Denmark; Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Ebeltoft, Denmark; Kunstsammlungen der Veste Coburg, Germany, museum kunst palast, Glasmuseum Hentrich, Germany and Museum Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg, Germany.

Inquire

Julius Weiland, Purple II, 2010, glass, 11 3/4 x 31 1/2 x 19 5/8 in. (30 x 80 x 50 cm) $ 12,500.00

Inquire

Julius Weiland, Index, 2011, glass, 31 1/2 x 15 3/4 x 7 7/8 in. (80 x 40 x 20 cm) $ 12,500.00

Bertil Vallien, (b. Sweden,1938)

Bertil Vallien was born in 1938 and has been at the forefront of Swedish glass design since the early 1960s. He began designing for Kosta Boda glassworks at Åfors in 1963 and by the 1970s it became necessary to devote a whole glassworks to his artistic output because of his innovative sandcasting technique. In developing this technique he has created a new language in glass that will be used for centuries to come. Today, Bertil Vallien is one of Europe’s best known artists in glass, famous for his sculpted boat forms, rich with narrative imagery, and for figurative faces or masks and heads that are both enigmatic and beautiful. The boat forms have long been part of Viking tradition representing the passage from life to death. The faces and masks are expressionless but suggest fear or longing, love or hate, watchfulness and thought. Sometimes a face or mask is the whole sculpture, sometimes it peers out from within a modernist form, suggesting a trapped soul.

Vallien is a master of controlling the inner light, which for him adds to the spiritual and symbolic content of the work. His many significant commissions have included an altar with Stations of the Cross in Växjö cathedral in Sweden and a sculpture for the Corning Headquarters in the USA. Since the early 1960s, Vallien has been honored for his work in glass. His most impressive accolades include Second Prize at the 1985 Zweiter Coburger Glaspreis in Coburg, Germany; the Visionary Award from the Museum of Arts & Design in New York; the 2005 Gold Medal granted by the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Växjö, Sweden. Vallien’s work is owned by some of the world’s most important museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois; Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York; Glasmuseet Ebeltoft in Ebeltoft, Denmark; and more.

Inquire

Bertil Vallien, Map 7166229, 1996, glass, 20 7/8 x 18 7/8 x 10 1/4 in. (53 x 48 x 26 cm) $ 24,000.00

Inquire

Bertil Vallien, Map 7166229, 1996, glass, 19 7/8 x 16 3/8 x 1 1/8 in. (50.5 x 41.5 x 3 cm) $ 24,000.00

Yoichi Ohira, (b. Japan, 1946-2022)

Yoichi Ohira, a Japanese glass artist who resided in Venice for over twenty-five years until his passing, challenged the conventional attributes of glass art—typically hard, fragile, cold, and weighty. A graduate of Tokyo’s Kuwasawa Design School in 1969, Ohira embarked on a glassblowing apprenticeship at the Kagami Crystal Company, Ltd. In 1973, he moved to Venice to study at the Accademia di Belle Arti. His luminous blown glass vessels offered a tactile exception, inviting viewers to handle them like Wunderkammer specimens. These small, lightweight creations beckoned exploration, showcasing Ohira’s abstracted design vocabulary inspired by gemstones, polished ivory, veined rocks, shimmering water, agate, moss, and lichens. Comparing Ohira to Emile Gallé for his ability to emulate the natural world in glass, his work also draws parallels to Jean Dunand’s bronze vessels, Japanese rokusho patina, and Otto Natzler’s volcanic glazes—a remarkable convergence of diverse media translated into glass.

In his more than four decades of artistic journey, Ohira has seamlessly blended Japanese aesthetics with traditional Italian glass techniques. Merging the vibrant colours of Muranese glass with the subtle forms of Japanese applied arts, grounded in nature. His vessels, showcased alongside works by renowned artists such as Dale Chihuly, Lino Tagliapietra, Carlo Scarpa, and Alvar Aalto, have earned him a prominent position in the global glass art scene. Ohira’s works have been exhibited internationally, solidifying his legacy as a major contributor to the narrative of contemporary glass art. His work, present in major collections worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Corning Museum of Glass, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and the American Craft Museum.

Inquire

Yoichi Ohira, Mosaico Sommerso N. 4, 2006, glass, 10 x 6 3/4 x 5 3/4 in. (25.4 x 17.1 x 14.6 cm) Please contact for price