Gallery of Israel

Russian artists who have immigrated to Israel over the past several decades, comprise a fair portion of current art in Israel. The common denominators that these Russian artists share, notwithstanding their differences in education, age, and various represented regions of origins within the Former Soviet Union, are the Russian language and culture in which they were brought up. They bring with them their individual, yet always complex experiences of life in communist Russia, a country different from Israel in almost every way imaginable, one that is totalitarian, large in size, and bearing different values and atmosphere.

Many years have passed since the Russian artist community infiltrated the Israeli, and to this day, the interesting mission to try and find out why somewhat of a “wall” continues to separate Russian artists from their Israeli colleagues, still eludes numerous people in the field. It may be significant to note that this separation exists in many forms not only between the artists, but between veteran Israeli citizens and immigrants as well.

One can easily find representatives and politicians of the Israeli art establishment constantly expressing “the immense contribution of Russian immigration to Israeli culture.” It seems that no one can pinpoint exactly what the place of Russian speaking artists in the Israeli art world is, and in what way they influence and/or affect this local body.

One thing is for certain, and that is that many an Israeli has been impressed by their Russian counterparts’ talents, diligence and courage, and many continue to enjoy their unique creations.