“I have no topics. There is only time. What happens in it and what happens to us in it – must exist in everything”.
atelier of Moshe Kupferman, one of the senior painters in Israel, a student of Zaritsky and Steimatzky and the Winner of the Israel Prize for the year 2000, remains as he left it when he passed away in 2003: on the large desk fleeting newspapers are still spread, privileged to touch eternity; paint drops taint the floor, unfinished work waiting for the master, a stained rag, an electric kettle, a vest resting on the chair as if saying “went out for a minute – will return shortly”, and plenty of nameless objects scattered around a small table; a grayish Bezeq phone and a circle of chairs and stools that had seen everybody who is somebody in the Israeli cultural scene. A piece of history.
The director of the Kupferman Collection house, Ronny Ribush: “Kupferman formed an abstract innovative language. He does not look at the scenery but rather relates to consciousness, memory and time. It was important for him that people will view a number of his works simultaneously, and the special halls were built based on his belief that natural light is the most appropriate for display.”
Ronny is not only the director but also his proud granddaughter: “when I was young I had the privilege of helping him in his work. I remember a warm, loving person who was also tough and demanding. He had golden hands and we, the grandchildren, were the fortunate recipients of the many wooden toys he created. The doll house he built for me is still very much alive.” An interesting detail we found out in the course of our conversation with Ronny is that Kupferman wrote with his right hand and painted with his left.
Other halls in the museum display an exhibition of Kupferman’s paintings alongside alternating exhibitions of works of the best of artists, mostly curated by Yona Fisher. Fisher, who was the chief curator of the Israel museum in Tel-Aviv, had been Kupferman’s friend for many years and accompanies the Kupferman Association from the very beginning. The museum also comprises Kupferman’s library, catalogues, films and more.
Kupferman’s works were displayed all over the world. The same is true for many of the other artists whose works are displayed here. If you pop in to Lohamei Hagetaot on the weekend, you will encounter the same artworks that you would have reviewed in awesome reverence during a cultural tour in Europe.
