Page 162 - "he 2020 Guggenheim issue of World of Art Contemporary Art Magazine

GO AWAY, 2012 ACRYLIC, OIL AND INK ON CANVAS 31.4X23.6 IN. | 80X60 CM.
INVITED ARTIST EVENING, 2013 ACRYLIC, OIL AND INK ON CANVAS 47.2X35.4 IN. | 120X90 CM.
FLYING AWAY FROM HERE, 2013 ACRYLIC, OIL AND INK ON CANVAS 43.3X35.4 IN. | 110X90 CM.

MALLY ELBAZ-ALMANDINE

Lives and works in Tiberias, Israel
https://www.almandineart.com

My name is Mally Elbaz Almandin. Almandin is a purple gem, which
has been an inspiration to my creativity and worldview. For me, it
symbolizes a natural, basic foundation that reflects both the field
stones that I played with as a child and the milestones in our lives. My
work consists of tiny stones, atom like, particles that crystallize into
molecules, into cells from which the whole process of creation is born.
The choice of materials, technique, images and composition are born
from the laborious work of marking the circles of stones. It is a slow,
repetitive, ceremonial marking that conjures up complex childhood
memories. I was born in Israel, in the city of Afula, to parents who
immigrated from Yemen. My grandfather and father were sewing and
embroidery craftsmen in Sanaa, Yemen. My father used to sew wool
and sheepskin sweaters for the king in Yemen. Before his death, my
father taught me the traditional Yemenite embroidery. As a child in a
family of eight, whose parents worked for a living, my grandmother was
a dominant figure in my life. Twice a day I used to go out to graze herd
of sheep with her. The cultivated fields of the Jezreel Valley, the colorful
landscape, the width of the sky, the wild plants and the animals were an
intriguing space for me to explore, play and socialize. These memories
are translated into images from the natural world, that serve as a visual
and emotional language in my work: branches that turn into dolls, leaves
of eucalyptus trees that resemble a blanket, a land that became my first
“canvas”, on which I engraved dry twigs.

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