November 8th a solo exhibition of Galit Rauchwerger, “Inner Courtyard”, ‘was opened at the Tel-Aviv gallery Binat. Curator: Ronit Shany.

Galit Rauchwerger portrays what she sees: people, still life, landscape. The photographed images are of family members or friends and the “landscapes”, mostly small in size, are photographed indoors or in a yard. Not just by chance one can discern still life in many of the photographs. In this solo exhibition Rauchwerger presents her oeuvre, covering almost thirty years of photography: from 1985, the year in which she completed her studies at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, to the present day.

Although this is indeed an exhibition of photography, Rauchwerger is not the typical photographer. Her contact with art began already in early childhood in kibbutz Ein Harod. Her father, an artist, was intensively engaged in photography, painting, and poetry. She was familiar with the darkroom at home, and occasionally went to see an exhibition at the local Museum of Art, Ein Harod. After leaving the kibbutz together with her mother and sister she studied graphic design at the WIZO France High School and art at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. She is married to the artist Jan Rauchwerger and has been his life partner over the past twenty-five years.

Rauchwerger is also a printmaker. Today she uses three different cameras: reflex, pocket-sized, and iphone.

She photographs wherever she happens to be: in Jaffa (her home), in Jerusalem, in Ein Vered (in someone’s yard during a visit), or in cities such as Paris and New York (during a stay with her family). Her photography is always a reaction to life around her. Does this sound like documentaries? Almost, but not really.

In her photographs, Rauchwerger intuitively relates again and again to emotion, to the inner world. Even when the photograph appears to be figurative and seemingly easily readable and identifiable, it nevertheless contains latent layers of significance over and above the outward appearance. One can sometimes acquire a fuller understanding of the image when it is part of a series or in association with another photograph.

Among other things Rauchwerger also combines photographs shot from the TV screen and photographs of statues, which could perhaps attest to an indeterminate border between reality and imagination.

The exhibition and the catalog are not set according to themes or in chronological order but appear in groups of two or three. This arrangement has been intentionally chosen in order to enhance and increase their significance, created by means of the affinity or comparison between the photographs in each group.

The photographs of still life abound in poetry, harmony, and beauty. They are the firm, domestic, protected, and rich basis for all the other photographs. From this base observers are invited to weave personal thoughts and interpretations regarding the photographs before them.

Ronit Shany. November 2012, Tel Aviv.

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Biography

1959 Born in kibbutz Ein Harod Ihud to parents born in the kibbutz.
1975 Studied applied art at the WIZO France High School in Tel Aviv.
1981-1985 Studied art at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem.
1987 Married the artist Jan Rauchwerger. Two boys were born to them, Daniel and Nadav, brothers to Miri and Motti from Jan’s previous marriage.
Worked as a freelance graphic artist and engaged in photography
1998-2000 Lived with her family in New York where she also specialized in etching and other forms of printmaking.
2001 Since then works and teaches etching and printmaking at the etching workshop of the Zaritsky Artists’ House, Tel Aviv. Engages in photography and at times combines the two fields. Lives and works in Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

In 1984 awarded the Brenner Prize by the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, for achievements in photography.

Solo Exhibitions

1986 Galit Rauchwerger, Photography, Meimad Visual Art Gallery, Tel Aviv.
2006 Galit and Jan, Intimacy (from the Year of Duos series of exhibitions), Engel Gallery, Tel Aviv.
2008 Yona’s Book, Exhibition of etchings, Zaritsky Artists’ House, Tel Aviv.
2012 Inner Courtyard, Curator Ronit Shani, Bineth Gallery, Tel Aviv.

Selected Group Exhibitions

1999 Holon – Bat Yam, Curator Mordechai Goldman, Zaritsky Artists’ House, Tel Aviv.
2007 Books and Letters, Engel Gallery, Tel Aviv.
2007 Independence Park for All, Curator Mordechai Goldman, Zaritsky Artists’ House, Tel Aviv.
2007 Local Scratch, Exhibition of Etchings, Curator Eliahu Diner, Zaritsky Artists’ House, Tel Aviv.
2007 The Fifth International Biennale for Artistic Graphics in Novosibirsk, Russia.
2010 Sounding Box, Artists creating from violin cases, Reuven House, Tel Aviv.
2011 Human Landscape, Curator Daniella Talmor, Zaritsky Artists’ House, Tel Aviv.
2011 Line, Spot, Letter, Curator Galit Rauchwerger, Migdalor Gallery, Jaffa.
2011 Jaffa Photography Salon, Curator Daniella Talmor, Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv.