ישנים

art in america - International review
10.5.11

by jean dykstra

NEW YORK Israeli photographer Naomi Leshem’s first solo show in the U.S. consisted of two series of C-prints, both of which explore states of limbo. The first, “Sleepers” (2008-09), shows young people between the ages of 16 and 20, from Israel, Switzerland, Germany, France and the U.S., asleep in their beds amid twisted sheets, bunched-up pillows and blankets, and the occasional stuffed animal. Sleep is a transient, ephemeral state, and adolescence is even more so. Teenagers are, almost by definition, ambiguous creatures, one foot still in childhood, the other in the land of adults. Leshem’s subjects embody this metamorphosis: Kristina, a beautiful blonde from Germany, snuggles under her comforter with an Uglydoll; Adam, a boyish-looking American teen, clutches a blue pillow; Tom, from Israel, with his scruffy beard, looks more man than boy even underneath his flowered blanket.

The 36-inch-square images are shot in brightly lit interiors, despite the fact that Leshem’s subjects all appear to be genuinely unconscious. (She set up the camera and then left until they fell asleep.) The photos bring to mind Tim Hetherington’s 2008 series of sleeping soldiers—young men on tour in Afghanistan. His intimate pictures, which turn anonymous troops into defenseless, individual young men, inspire in the viewer a sense of protectiveness and compassion. Leshem’s languorous teenagers are poignant, too, but arouse equal parts protectiveness and desire.

The photographs in Leshem’s second series, “Runways” (2007), depict young women, who are about to begin their mandatory military service, standing on airstrips in Israel. The runways are striated with skid marks from landing aircraft, and these lines converge dramatically toward a point on the horizon. There is a uniformity to all of these square-format photographs, bisected in the middle by a horizon line. Bright blue skies occupy the upper half of the frame; a desolate, sun-baked terrain fills the bottom. The unvarying composition may be meant to suggest the uniformity required by the military. Seen from a distance, and from behind, the young women are somewhat abstract, symbols instead of individuals. Nitsan (2007) shows a girl, barefoot, running down the black tarmac, hurtling toward the horizon. We can easily imagine her fleeing her responsibilities. The photographs in “Runways,” though, occasionally feel forced, as if they’re trying to make a statement. By comparison, the images in “Sleepers” are mysterious, and more than a bit voyeuristic, and that’s what makes them so compelling.

לקריאה נוספת לחץ כאן

 The New Yorker
Goings On About Town: Art
Naomi Leshem

An Israeli photographer shows a series devoted to sleepers—attractive young people, aged sixteen to twenty, tucked into their beds. Brightly lit and strikingly colorful, these intimate scenes might as well be onstage, but Leshem’s subjects appear to be genuinely lost in slumber. Their vulnerability is touching; it’s also a turn-on, arousing both protective and predatory impulses. But whether you’re moved to share their dreams or their beds, the images have a strong positive charge. Another series, portraying solitary young Israeli women posed on military airport runways, is arresting but never quite gets off the ground. Through Feb. 18.

לקריאה נוספת לחץ כאן

לקריאה נוספת לחץ כאן

 Time Out New York

AndreaMeislin Gallery is very pleased to present

Between Zones

an exhibition of work by acclaimedphotographer Naomi Leshem. There will be an opening reception for the artistonJanuary 13, 2011 from 6 - 8 PM.

The exhibition includes twodistinct but complementary bodies of work. Runwaysshowsimages of young women standing on all nine of Israel's active military runwaysandSleeperscaptures adolescent boys andgirls at their most vulnerable: asleep at night in their beds. Both series speakof a momentary limbo between states, between consciousness and between themilestones of young life. 

Runways, shot at the height of the punishingdesert sun, shows young girls just before beginning their mandatory conscriptionin the Israeli Army. They engage with the otherwise forbidding runways; frolicking, standing, staring. The series examines the consequences ofcircumstance, when fate can be decided with the same severity with which thescorched skid marks funnel viewers to an unseen, unknown horizon.

Leshem's fascination in atransitory limbo, a place intimate but unknown, led the artist to limit hersubjects inSleepersto adolescents between theages of 16 and 20, symbols of prime vitality themselves in a transition fromchildhood to adulthood. A total of 32 portraits make up the completeSleepersseries, which was shot overfour years in five countries; Israel, Switzerland, Germany, Franceand theUnitedStates.

The portraits are brightly lit, belyingtraditional nighttime scenes. Leshem conceives of the work as classicalportraiture, and in a sense these are the purest form of portraiture: faceswithout pretense, conscious projection or stance, a face even the person asleephas never seen. There is a subtle tension between the concept of the transitorystate and its accompanying physical effects - notice the reddish tint to somesubject's lips or ears, the result of the physical process during sleep whenblood is sent to smaller vessels in the body. 

Anaccompanying book, Sleepers (published by the Swiss house Benteli in association withIsrael's Even Hoshen) will beavailable at the gallery in tandem with the show. The entire 32Sleepersportraits will concurrentlybe on view at IG Halle am Kunst(Zeug)Haus, Rapperswil, Switzerlandthrough April 3, 2011.

Naomi Leshem, recipient ofthe 2009 Constantiner Award for an Israeli photographer by the Tel Aviv Museumof Art, studied Photography at theHadassahCollegeinJerusalem. This is her first solo exhibitionwith the Andrea Meislin Gallery. 

For more information pleasecontact the Andrea Meislin Gallery at info@andreameislin.com or (212) 627-2552. 

AndreaMeislin Gallery
526 West 26th Street, Suite 214
New York, NY 10001
Telephone 212.627.2552
Fax 212.627.1216
info@andreameislin.com
Gallery Hoursare Tuesday - Saturday 10 am - 6 pm