Yehuda Armoni-After the Fire
Valery Kurov-Memorial Candles
Maly Lasker-Past and Future One year since october 7th Massacre
Throughout October, the public is invited to visit the Castel Museum and see both the permanent exhibition, which features eighty original works by one of the greatest Israeli artists, and the special exhibition “Tragedy, Heroism, and Rebirth: October 7 in the Mirror of Art,” which includes most meaningful works by contemporary artists Mali Lasker and Valery Kurov, now exhibited in the museum space for the first time.
The two paintings by Mali Lasker featured at the Castel Museum are part of a series of works conveying the profound and painful impact of the events of October 7, 2023. They explore the emotional turmoil engendered by the events, the mind-boggling costs of the war, and the magnitude of the massacre. These artworks, born of the national pain and anguish, contain Jewish and Israeli symbolism, which is incorporated into the surrealist world of the artist herself. Past and present come together to describe the trauma and the steep price that has been paid. The same is true of Valery Kurov’s “Memorial Candles,” where the candles are born out of the images of the victims.
On Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at 7:30 PM, we will host a special event, organizing by the Cathedra Maale Adummim, commemorating the victims of the tragedy and the war, and engage the artists and the fighters in a dialogue about the impact of these events upon them – and upon us all.
The exhibition of the painter Yehuda Armoni, winner of the Moshe Castel Prize for the year 2023, titled Zohi artzi u-sdoteiha [“This Is My Land and Its Fields”], will be open to visitors from Wednesday, October 9, 2024, until the end of November. The works of Yehuda Armoni, whose grandmother was Moshe Castel’s sister, depict the landscapes of the Land of Israel, from all its regions; the selection of works grouped under the heading “Landscapes and Inscription” has been painted under the influence of Moshe Castel’s artworks and in dialogue with them. The artist, who is a reserve colonel in the IDF, has devoted the last twenty-five years to documenting the landscapes of our one and only country; his documentation does not merely reflect nature, but also conveys the attitude of the person who is observing and experiencing it. Following the tragedy of October 7, we see in the newsreels our land being burned and turned to ash; Yehuda Armoni shows it from a different angle – a stunningly beautiful land that reveals its secrets to all those who truly love and defend it. Every visitor to this exhibition at the Castel Museum will enjoy a ‘tour’ to Ben Shemen Forest and the Ayalon Valley, Palmachim Beach and Makhtesh Ramon, Latrun and the Dead Sea – and many other places besides. There are fifty works in total, almost all of them exhibited for the first time. The words Zohi artzi u-sdoteiha are taken from a famous poem by Nathan Alterman, which has been set to music and performed by countless singers, from Arik Einstein to Ofra Haza. And yet, Yehuda Armoni’s exhibition inevitably brings to mind another celebrated Israeli song, by Ehud Manor, Ein li eretz aheret [“I Have No Other Land”], whose central message is now vindicated: We truly have no other Land, even if it is burning… Yehuda Armoni shows beyond all doubt just how beautiful this Land actually is. “With an aching body, with a hungry heart, here is my home” repeats Yehuda Armoni after Ehud Manor, and we all join him.
On Monday, October 14, 2024, at 6:30 PM (the gathering will begin at 6 PM), we will hold the festive opening of this exhibition with the participation of the artist, who will also guide a special tour of his works.
On Wednesday, October 30, at 3:00 PM, we will hold an expanded Russian-language tour of this exhibition, under the title “We Have No Other Land.” The tour will be guided by the Museum curator, Dr. Alek D. Epstein.
At all these events, the Castel Museum not only honors the families of the fallen, the hostages, and the missing persons, but also salutes the people of the brush and the people of the sword, each of whom makes his/her contribution to strengthening our land, country, and culture.
