Yael Novak, maker and designer, I attempt to navigate between independent work in my own studio and public involvement in an effort to establish Israeli ceramic art as part of the international clay community and to contribute to its professional dialogue with the world by initiating global ties and launching international connections.
The wheel is my tool of choice. Forms thrown on the wheel are my point of departure for a creative, practical and whimsical range of thrown and altered tableware and one-off pieces designed for domestic use and enjoyment in the rituals of everyday life as well as vessel- based sculptural objects. Through the adoption of visual cultural icons originating in our everyday utilitarian essentials, I create objects offering commentary on the contemporary culture of mass consumerism and on life in the absence of boundaries
Playfulness in dialogue with sincerity parallels the need for moderation and limitation by means of repurposing and upcycling. An assortment of recycled/repurposed kitchenware and readymade items are combined with wheel thrown porcelain forms to create objects of humor and whimsy. These assemblages enrich my vocabulary with new options and alternative ways of materializing creative visions and thoughts; the process inspiring and playful, it opens new and endless possibilities for fostering a personal and inventive contemporary aesthetic.
Biography/cv
I turned to ceramics after several years in special education.
A chance encounter with an exquisite wood fired ewer led to a career change and a lifetime commitment to clay.
Independent Studio since 1990
Education
1990 – 2005 – numerous professional workshops in Israel and abroad
1989- Ort Hof Hasharon, Shefayim, Ceramics
1978 - York University, Toronto, Canada - Art and Education, M.A
1976 - George Brown College, Toronto, Canada - Ceramic Art and Design
1973 - Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel - English and Art History, B.A
Professional Experience
2010 – Present – Executive Board Member, International Liaison, Benyamini
Contemporary Ceramics Center, Tel Aviv
2009 – 2012 - ‘From the Melting Pot into the Fire’ - an extensive exhibition of
Contemporary Ceramics from Israel - Initiating, producing, curating
and lecturing - U.S, Canada
1998 – 2013 - Board Member, Foreign Affairs, CAAI-Ceramic Artists
Association of Israel
1978 – 2005 – Teaching and counselling in assorted special education institutes
1982 – 1984 – Initiating Educational Programming and curating Emek Hefer
Nature and Archaeology Museum
1969 – 1974 - Youth Wing, Israel Museum, Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem
Teaching and counselling highly gifted children from East and West
Jerusalem
Selected Exhibitions, Awards and Scholarships
- 2019 “Fireworks”, FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association,
The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON
- 2018 “Fireworks”, FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association, Thames
Art Gallery, Chatham, ON
- 2017 “Fireworks”, FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association,
- Rail’s End Gallery, Haliburton, ON
- 2016 The Apter Barrer Arts Center, Maalot-Tarshiha, ‘Distilling’
- 2016 Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, MO
‘Dimensions and the Space Between’
- 2016 San Pau Recinte Modernista (Sant Rafael Pavilion), Barcelona, Spain
“Ceramic Design: Techno-Logical Implements, Contemporary
Ceramics from Israel”, IAC – 2016 congress
- 2016 The Eighth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum,
Tel Aviv, “Wet/Fired: Matter as a Metaphorical Space”
- 2016 Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, MO, ‘Desire’
- 2015 Art Gallery for Craft and Design, Kibbutz Amir, Tribute to a Vase
- 2015 Benyamini Contemporary Ceramics center, In – House
- 2014 Benyamini Contemporary Ceramics Center, The Feast,
On the Flip Side
- 2013 Knesset Israel – Permanent Collection of Israeli Ceramics ‘Identity, Clay’
- 2013 Benyamini Contemporary Ceramics Center, Okashi Museum, Acco
- 2013 Beit Kahane Museum, Ramat Gan, ‘Blue and White Now’
- 2013 The Seventh Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel
Aviv, ‘Imprinting on Clay’
- 2012 The Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA
NCECA 2012, Seattle
“From the Melting Pot into the Fire, Contemporary Ceramics in Israel”
- 2011 The Sixth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
‘Techno-Logical Implements’
- 2010 Belger Arts, Kansas City, US
” From the Melting Pot into the Fire, Contemporary Ceramics in Israel”
- 2010 The Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Canada
“From the Melting Pot into the Fire, Contemporary Ceramics in Israel”
- 2009 Solo exhibition, Beit Kahane Museum, Ramat Gan, “Recline”
- 2009 The Mint Museum of Art + Design, Charlotte, North Carolina
“From the Melting Pot into the Fire, Contemporary Ceramics in Israel”
- 2008 The Fifth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
“Clay, Sensation”
- 2008 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show
- 2008 Faculty Show, Rail’s End Gallery, Haliburton, Ont. Canada
- 2008 Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Avivm “Rhythms”
- 2008 Design Gallery, Hankin College, Holon
“Shelf Life”
- 2007 “inbox” , Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Aviv
- 2006 The Fourth Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
“Territory and Identity, Between Ceramics and Architecture”
- 2006 “ReOriented Design”, Design Biennale, St. Etienne, France
- 2006 Recent Work, Haliburton School of the Arts, Haliburton, Ont. Canada
- 2006 “Israeli Contemporary Applied Arts”, Ben Uri Gallery,
The London Jewish Museum of Art, London, U.K.
- 2006 “Goblets” , The Gallery, Shoeva, Jerusalem
- 2006 “The Vessel and Stand” , Hagvulot Museum, Metula
“Sleepless”, First Prize
- 2005 Residency, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Art, Maine, U.S.A
- Awarded by AIDA – Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts
- 2005 “PromiseDesign”, the Triennale, Milan
- 2005 “PromiseDesign”’, “designmai”, Berlin, Copenhagen
- 2004 The Third Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
“Design, Art, Design”
- 2004 “Tea Time” , Gallerina, Bat Shlomo
- 2004 “Tea Pots” , Art Gallery, Tel Hai
- 2003 Clayart, Wales, U.K
- 2003 “Toys”, Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Aviv
- 2002 The Second Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
“Collaborations”
- 2001 “The Art of the Vessel”, Beit Kahane Museum, Ramat Gan
- 2000 The Alix De Rothschild Award Scheme
“The Art of the Vessel”, Third Prize
- 2000 “The Art of the Vessel”, Art Gallery, Tel Hai
- 2000 The First Biennale for Israeli Ceramics, Eretz Israel Museum, Tel Aviv
“Clay 2000”
- 2000 “Vase Movement”, Hankin College, Design Gallery, Holon
- 1999 “Lipton’s Five O’clock Art”, Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Aviv
“Potters Set a Table”, Beit Kahane Museum, Ramat Gan
“Plates and Platters”, Hankin College, Design Gallery, Holon
“Designer Crafts of Israel”, Sternberg Centre, London, U.K
“Bowls”, Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Aviv
- 1998 “Potters Set a Table”, Art Gallery, Tel Hai
- 1998 “cups”, Hankin College, Design Gallery, Holon
- 1997 “16 Ceramic Artists”, Performing Art Centre, Rishon L’Zion
- 1995 “Ceramics and Painting, Painting Ceramics”, Shlush 30 Gallery Tel Aviv
- 1994 “Table Settings”, Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Aviv
- 1993 “Containers”, Shlush Shloshim Gallery, Tel Aviv
Works in private and corporate collections: Israel, U.S.A, Canada, U.K. Belgium, France, Japan, Germany, Italy
Participated in several professional workshops, symposia and conferences in Israel and abroad
Memberships
IAC – International Academy of ceramics
CAAI - Ceramics Artists Association of Israel
NCECA – National Council for the Education of Ceramics
Fusion – The Ontario Clay and Glass Association
Artaxis - an evolving independent network of artists