May 17th an exhibition by the Israeli photographer Adi Nes, ‘The Village’, opened at the Sommer Contemporary Art. The exhibition will open concurrently at Gallery Praz Delavallade Paris, and Jack Shainman Gallery New York.

Adi Nes (46) is a graduate of the Photography department in the Bezalel Academy of Art (1992). He is one of Israel’s leading artists in the field of photography. His working technique, the meticulous printing quality, his staged shooting style and the iconic figures– are all identifying marks of his work that have made him into one of the world’s known photographers.

From the curators text:

“ The new series is set in a rural landscape, yet it seems that serenity is the least adequate adjective to describe it. The silence of the imagery is shattered by the defined and precise staging that characterizes Nes’ work. This type of deliberate dramatization does not leave room for doubt. Under the surface, as green and harmless as it may seem, something mysterious dwells.

Like in his previous series; ‘Soldiers’ (2000), ‘Boys’ (2001), and ‘The Biblical Stories’ (2007), in ‘The Village’ Adi Nes is also examining contemporary Israeli identity, manhood, myths, militancy and humanity; and it seems that all of these topics are intensified in light of the location – The Village – an authentic Israeli life form that seems to have lost its way, and with it, maybe we did to.”

I would add, on my personal behalf, that there seems to be an obvious parallel to Sots Art, with the correction to the Israeli reality. In Sots Art, however, irony is the central and apparent feature.
The works of Adi Nes are well calculated, he creates his own iconography, which lacks any “charm”. Many of the detached images by Adi Nes are reminiscent, in my view, of the Third Reich art, and are also connected to the theme of homosexuality in art. The entwining of such associations with the Israeli mythology, succeed to create a sense of tension, which probably was the aim of the author.

Leonid Zeiger
May 2012