Israeli Artist Branches Out in London
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Israeli artist Zadok Ben-David has been approved by the Westminster City Council to display his “Four Seasons” sculpture in London, at Hanover Square. The sculpture depicts four metal trees and is sponsored by Sotheby’s of London. It comes on the heels of the artist’s similar installation on the grounds of the Chatsworth House, the ancestral hall of the Dukes of Devonshire located southwest of Manchester.
Hanover Square is hosting sculptures for the month of March. As the viewer approaches, the leaves and branches of Ben-David’s piece take the shape of hundreds of abstract human forms, interconnected in midair. All the sculptures are made of COR-TEN steel, a fabricated metal that oxidizes at a fast rate. Consequently, the trees will rust as rain showers arrive.
Ben-David’s work has been featured in exhibitions around the globe, and he has also collaborated with other London-based Israeli artists. “We’ve collaborated in a few mixed-theme shows, but not on Israeli or Jewish subjects,” wrote Ben-David in an e-mail to the Forward. “I am a Jewish person by religion, but I do not create ‘Jewish art.’”
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