Lot 192: MIKI KRATSMAN

Gilo #1 from Panoramas of Occupation
Signed in ink, printed title and date on a Letter of Authenticity accompanying the work. One from an edition of 5 plus 2 artist's proofs.

45 5/8 x 66 7/8 in. (116 x 170 cm)

Digital inkjet print.

2001

Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv

Miki Kratsman&#8217;s professional background as a journalist ultimately propelled him to adopt photography as his primary source of communication. In his twenty-year long career as a photographer, Kratsman has turned his lens to documenting the daily lives of Palestinians residing in the West Bank. His interest lies in presenting moments, scenes and activities of understated but undeniable relevance that normally go amiss by the mainstream press. In the current lot, <em>Gilo # 1</em>, Kratsman presents an image of a literal and symbolic split—a sweeping, panoramic landscape is abruptly broken and artificially extended on a wall that otherwise blocks it. By doing so, Kratsman offers an insider&#8217;s view while objectively capturing the complexities defining the region.

Miki Kratsman is the Head of the Photography Department at the Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem. His accolades include The Enrique Calvin Israel Museum Prize (1997); the Emet Prize for Science, Art and Culture from Israel&#8217;s Minister of Education and Culture (2001); the British Multi Exposure Grant (2001); and the Robert Gardner Fellowship in Photography of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography at Harvard University (2011). His work has been exhibited at Maison Robert Doisneau, Paris (1997); The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (1997); the Venice Art Biennale, Utopia exhibition, Arsenale (2003); S&#227;o Paulo Biennial (2006); The Jewish Museum, Dateline Israel: New Photography and Video, New York (2007); the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Santiago, Chile (2007); The Jewish Museum, Amsterdam (2008); Nachbarn, Galerie in Kornerpark, Berlin, Germany (2010); and The Tel Aviv Museum (2011), among others.