Seeds of the Land

The age-old appeal of the world of plants takes on a special meaning in Israeli art, where artists grapple with the significance of local flora as symbols of cultural and national identity. The exhibition examines traditional scientific botanical drawings and their evolution in the works of contemporary Israeli artists, who engage with their predecessors and present their personal perspectives on the subject matter – at times political and critical, at times allegorical, and at times revealing a yearning for nature steeped in fear for its fate and for our own.

The exhibition is a joint project of Da'at HaMakom: Center for the Study of Cultures of Place in the Modern Jewish World and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Banner: Dafna Kaffeman, Homeland Plants (detail), 2018, Flame-worked glass, Collection of the artist

Shmuel Charuvi, Wild Marjoram (Origanum syriacum), 1923–27, Gouache, watercolor, and graphite on paper, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Pesi Girsch, Aristolochia, 2017, Inkjet print on archival paper, Collection of the artist

1. Aharon Halevy, Persian Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum), ca. 1920, Watercolor and graphite on paper, Beit Gordon Museum, Degania Aleph

2. Shmuel Charuvi, Persian Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum), 1923–27, Watercolor on paper, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

3. Shulamith Wittenberg Miller, Study for a cyclamen pattern, Bezalel School, 1924, Watercolor and India ink on paper, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

4. Jacob Eisenberg, Sketch for vase design, Bezalel School, ca. 1925, Watercolor and graphite on paper, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem<

5. Ruth Koppel, Cyclamen persicum, Illustration for Wild Plants in the Land of Israel by N. Feinbrun, Tel Aviv, 1960, Watercolor on paper, Herbarium, Israeli National Natural History Collections, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

6. Irene Blecher, Cyclamen persicum, 2009, Watercolor on paper, Collection of the artist

7. Eliezer Sonnenschein, Cyclamen persicum, from the series “Wild Flowers and Insects in Israel – Prima Donna," 2014, Digital print, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

8. Reuven Rubin, Cyclamens, 1935, Oil on canvas, Rubin Museum

9. Moshe Gershuni, Ve’yit’alleh, 1984, Black chalk, oil and glass paint on paper, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

10. Uri Gershuni, Aviv, 2004, Inkjet print, Collection of the artist

11. Nurit Gur Lavy (Karni), Cyclamens – The Czech Dinning Set, 2013, Pigment on readymade porcelain plates, Collection of the artist

12. Sigal Tsabari, Tuber, 2018, Oil on plywood, Private collection

13. Hadar Gad, from the series “Lot, Block, Row (detail),” 2007, Oil on canvas, Collection of the artist

14. Ori Gersht, Cyclamen P01, from the series "Fragile Land," 2018, Polaroid, archival pigment print, Collection of the artist, courtesy of the Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art

15. Sylvie Yearit Sheftel, Dew Drop (detail), 2013, Inkjet print, Collection of the artist

16. Sharon Poliakine, Cool Zones (detail), 2018, Oil on canvas, Private collection

17. Larry Abramson, Home LXIX (after Shmuel Haruvi), 2017, Oil on canvas, Collection of the artist

18. Esther Knobel, Fallen Cyclamens, 2018, Enamel on copper, Collection of the artist

19. Esther Cohen, Ein Hod Ein Hud, 2017, Pen and graphite on topographic map, Collection of the artist

20. Keren Taggar, Untitled, 2016, Industrial paint on paper soaked