Photographs

Shards by Chaim Bezalel

The “Shards” series is predominantly assemblages with hand made clay or porcelain tiles containing original photographic laser decals burned into the glaze. These are contained in shadow boxes or other display mechanisms, sometimes with found objects. See the video, “Shards”

Stars and Stripes I, II, III

“Stars and Stripes I” burned hand made clay and porcelain tiles with burned in laser decals, bronze and porcelain found objects in 7-UP crate.

“Stars and Stipes II” assemblage in Canada Dry crate, 12 x 18 x 6 in.

“Stars and Stipes III” assemblage with raku fired tiles, steel plate, wooden knobs 22 x 18 in.

“Study in Brown” by Chaim Bezalel and Yonnah Ben Levy handmade tiles and steel in wooden crate 18 x 27 x 6 in.

Test Tiles in Glass Covered Box by Yonnah Ben Levy and Chaim Bezalel

Shipworm Tiles

Time & Tide

“Time and Tide” clay tiles (raku and pit fired, glazed with laser decals) acrylics, steel in shadowbox, 25 x 21 x 6 in.

Will the Circle be Unbroken

“Will the Circle be Unbroken” clay discs (one side relief pattern, other side laser decal) bronze, cast iron scale, 44 x 40 in. (each disc is 6 in. diameter and 1 in. thick)

“Petroglyphs” clay, wood, steel, copper, brass, 55x27x8 in.

Petroglyphs

Petroglyphs (detail) each disc is 6 ½ in. in diameter, 1 in. thick, carved on one side with an image burned into the other side.

Creation II, clay, wood, rusted steel, horse hair, acrylics 18 x 21 x 4 in.

Creation I, pit fired clay, bisqued clay, acrylics, antlers and wood 28x13x4 in.

A New Work

The image on the right is titled “Insets & Offsets” and is unlike anything we've done before, which is why we're putting it on our home page. It's not exactly a painting, it's not exactly a print, and it's not exactly a collage. The colored papers are offset ink tests from the 1940's or 50's. The colored designs in gouache are made with wood blocks from Bali for printing fabric. The black and white designs are pen and ink. The piece is 51 x 46 in.

“Pushing Paisley” by Yonnah, porcelain, 13 x 11 x 9 in.

Pixilated Pine

“Pixilated Pine” 25 x 17 x 3 in. mounted in fruit crate

Medallians

Medallians pit fired clay mounted in shadow box 15 x 12 x 3 in.

Return for Redemption (1975), 19x12x4 in. (private collection) handmade, glazed tiles with burned in laser decals in Coca-Cola crate.

To a Hammer, Every Problem is a Nail, 25 x 17 x 3 in. pit fired clay and metal in fruit crate

Ruins of Ashkelon, 7 x 36 in., original photographic laser decals on high fired clay with found Byzantine era pottery shards

Aviary, 7 ½ x 27 in.

Crowns (Jesus', Mary's, and Buddha's), 6 x 12 x 3 in., fired on decal on porcelain and press molded clay

Mimesis in the Digital Age (essay with that title by Chaim Bezalel) 9 x 20 in. , laser decals on porcelain with mother of pearl buttons

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction (tribute to Walter Benjamin) , 16 x 19 in., laser decals on raku fired clay

The End of the American Frontier (after an essay by Frederick Jackson Turner) 12 x 23 in.

see the video, “The End of the American Frontier”

Enjoying Everyday Life (TV Evangelists), 7 x 21 in.

Religione (background figures in Early Renaissance Paintings) 22 x 23 in. laser decals and acrylics on porcelain

Crazy Quilt (from 19^th Century quilt elements) laser decals on high fired clay, 20 x 20 in.

Cloud of Witnesses (crowd surging through the Vatican) diptych, 24 x 20 each frame

Shaker Triptych (from Shaker Village, upstate NY), 21 x 18 in. laser decals on porcelain

Gaza Celebrates Yeshiva Massacre (photo by Reuters) “Pour out thy wrath on the heathen that have not known thee ...” (Psalm 79:6, also found in the Passover Haggadah) illustration and calligraphy on the two left tiles taken from the Darmstadt Haggadah ca. 1430, Scribe: Israel ben Meir of Heidelberg (size 6 x 34 in.)

detail

Image, Shadow, and Artifact, 11 x 9 in., laser decals on porcelain and found clay object

Dem Bones, 9 x 35 in., laser decals on porcelain with skull and horns

see the video, “Our Town”

Our Town, 21 x 17 in., laser decals on porcelain with antique Ambrotype photographic montage on glass

What Me Worry Beads, 15 x 15 in. (laser decals on porcelain, plastic beads)

Self Reliance, 15 x 15 in., laser decals on porcelain with hand forged wrench

The Seventh Veil, 15 x 15 in., laser decals on porcelain with scarf

New Moon Tammuz I, 9 x 12 in.

New Moon Tammuz II, 11 ½ x 9 ¾

The Passion (collaboration with Yonnah Ben Levy) assemblage with laser decal, raku fired clay, and Byantine shards,encaustic wax 21 x 14 in.

Lifemask, 17 x 7 in., ceramics and bamboo

Slough, 10 x 20 in.

Cupies, 8 x 10 in.

link to “Caveware”

Free Standing Assemblage and Sculpture

Nurse Log, 45 x 20 x 16 in., ceramic tiles with laser decals and sgraffito on reverse sides, brushed aluminum on driftwood base (private collection)

detail

World Trade Center (brand mascots)

World Trade Center, extruded forms with burned in decals, 14x17x13 in.

Upstate, Winter, 14 x 21 x 5 in., Terracotta with laser decals, brass, wood

Shards, 10 x 15 in., shadow box with laser decals on porcelain with enamels on copper (private collection)

“Lodgepole Pine”

See the video of "Lodgepole Pine" documenting the installation in which the artist threw balls of clay at the trunk of a large tree and hours later carefully removed the now dried impressions of the bark, pinecones, branches, and needles. After firing they were affixed to galvanized nails and attached to a suspended piece of driftwood. The accompanying music is Paul Robeson singing Joyce Kilmer's beloved poem, "Trees," (1913) set to the music of Oscar Rasbach and recorded in 1939.

“Old Growth Circles”

“First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.” -Zen koan (three sides shown), 11 x 6 x 6 in.

Catwalk, wood,brass, porcelain (revolves with motorized turntable) 25 x 18 x 18 in.

See the video, “Catwalk”

links to related work

An installation : "My Grandmother's Matchbook Collection"

video of “My Grandmother's Matchbook Collection”

Totem Bowls

"The Twelve Tribes" an installation