Chazaz (word that means gravel, chipping and partitioning in Hebrew) is the title for Oded Shimshon’s new exhibition at The Museum of Art Ein Harod.
Oded Studied Cinematography in Israel then Photographic Art and Fine Art in the UK.
Oded’s new work “Chazaz” could be interpreted as a critical dialogue with an established painterly tradition of picturing “Israeli landscape” that was established during the 1920th, a movement that painted idealised abstraction of the land suggesting open, expanses that breathes to all dimensions, a meeting point of horizontal vistas of sky and land with strong longing for the infinity. It presented a sense of belonging and bond with what was considered authentic Israeli sensibility (Work like Michael Gross and Uri Rizman as example)
Oded deals with views that are ordinary and away from the news making spots. In his work he establishes a minimalist and geometric style that on one hand suggests abstraction but on the other foregrounds an objective depiction of the view in front. The viewpoint is important since the positioning of the camera deliberately depicts “dissonant” in the open “pure” view. Those are signs of social, political organisation of partitioning, constructing and marginalising of spaces.
In Oded’s work the anticipated landscape format of the horizontal is replaced by the vertical format that dissect the poetic of the horizon. This deliberate act establishes a sense of gravity and weightiness in the pictorial space as well as within the gallery.
The method of display display establishes an interaction between the pictures and the architectonic of the museum space in such a way that sharpen the dialectic interaction between the concreteness presence of the building and the poetic aspect of the art work. Here the name of the exhibition becomes meaningful as it brings to bear the harsh sound of crushing and milling brought about by visual devices such as road marking, concrete barriers, electricity lines and gravel.

Oded’s is showing his photographic art work since 1985. His early work mainly in Black and White was shown in the UK in Particular and in Europe and Israel. Most important previous exhibitions are “Set Pieces” and “Spirit Level”.