Jonathan Cohen's photos with the keyword: Ein Hod Artists’ Village

Leon Bronstein was born in Moldavia whence he moved to the land of Israel. An engineer and watchmaker by training, he found himself unable to find work in either of those vocations. But he could work with tools and he had molded clay and worked with wood as a child. As chance would have it, in 1979 he found a beautifully grained piece of olive wood that inspired him to fashion a small figurine at a wood shop in the Old City of Caesarea. This statue that was so well received by the shopkeeper that Bronstein’s turned his creative attention to sculpture.

Benjamin Levy was born in Tel Aviv in 1940. He studied art in Israel under Abraham Yaskil, in Paris at the École de Montparnasse and in New York at the Pratt Graphic Art Center. After his studies he returned to Tel Aviv, where he set up a studio and later got married. Levy has drawn a great deal of inspiration from his collection of family photos, many of which were taken before he was born. His paintings have absorbed a lot of the magic of these old photos, which is reflected in the distinct rigidity of his figures, the dream-like quality of his paintings and the theatrical setting of most of his portraits and scenes. Figures in full dress are arranged as if for a photograph, and the stage is fitted out with a curtain and scenes. It is communication by means of gestures, views and symbols. Unexpressed messages are sometimes delivered by a small winged messenger, perhaps the inner voice of one's conscience or temptation. A little bird rests on some straw, a symbol of the human soul. In 1965 the Levy family moved to New York, where he soon achieved success and recognition. He now lives in New York, Tel Aviv and in the Ein Hod artistic colony in Israel. Since the late 1960s he has held over 80 one-man shows and has taken part in over 100 group shows in Israel, the United States and Europe. His work is included in many private and public collections throughout the world.