Israel’s Nir Evron brings perspective to VCU Photo, Film
International artist Nir Evron was in residence at VCU’s department of photography and film this semester, and completed his solo project “Projected Claims.”
“Projected Claims” is at The Depot Gallery from Nov. 6 through Jan. 17, 2016. This exhibition explores the intersections of history, culture, politics, identity, religion and shifting borders with a primary focused on Israel and sites of conflict.
“Projected Claims” includes selections from “Threshold” seven black and white photo-based inkjet prints and three video installations: “In Virgin Land,” “Oriental Arch” and “A Free Moment.”
Evron shot this series in Rawabi, a Palestinian city under development in the West Bank. Evron’s photographs layer double exposures of windows and doorways of the city’s buildings under construction.
Evron’s focus on architectural thresholds echoes the fragile status of the city itself on the threshold of existence, and demonstrates the artist’s mastery of film, video and photography — combining technical craft with rigorous conceptual exploration.
This is Evron’s largest solo exhibition in the United States and is currently on display at The Depot. Evron lives in Tel Aviv, Israel. He received his BFA in photography and media from Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem and his MFA from the Slade School of Art in London. Since 2007, he has been a professor of photography at Bezalel.
Evron had solo exhibitions at LAXART in Los Angeles, the Center for Contemporary Art in Tel Aviv and Herzeliya Museum of Contemporary Art, among other venues. His work has been included in group exhibitions at venues such as The Israel Museum in Jerusalem and Neuberger Museum of Art, and he has also been included in many international exhibitions.
“Having Nir here has been a tremendous influence and a contribution to the general, intellectual and creative environment,” said Sasha Waters Freyer, the VCU Department Chair of Photography and Film. “Because he brings this international perspective, because VCUArts has this long standing relationship with the Middle East, in terms with our campus in Qatar, it’s really nice to have someone from a different part of the Middle-East to come and be part of the community here.”
“He’s been terrific and I know he’s been very engaged with our students and I recommended students who were not in his classes go speak with him and show him work,” Evron said. “So I think personally I think he’s a really wonderful, accomplished artist and working at a high conceptual level.”
Staff Writer, Sophia Belletti
Sophia is a sophomore print/online journalism major with a minor in gender, sexuality and women’s studies. She enjoys writing about current events and sports and hopes to one day be a sports reporter, covering soccer, basketball and baseball. You can usually find Sophia drinking way too much coffee and laughing at her own jokes. // Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn
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