The short film Studio Visit with Gary Goldstein is available to watch at the top of the page.
Gary Goldstein, a renowned Israeli artist, has carved a niche for himself in the realm of visual art. His vast oeuvre, encompassing painting, drawing, and writing on second-hand books, unfolds a vivid narrative steeped in personal and historical memory. As a second-generation Holocaust survivor, Goldstein’s creative process is significantly shaped by the shadows of the past, eliciting haunting childhood memories oscillating between hysterical frenzy and stifling restraint.
Drawing from a plethora of influences, Goldstein’s work encompasses a wide range of media – from drawings, paintings, and artist books to found-object art. His style marries elements of Pop Art, Surrealism, Dadaism, and Illuminated Manuscripts. With inspirations ranging from 1940s and 1950s comic books, magazines, advertisements, and soft porn to Kabalistic amulets and Talmudic pages, Goldstein’s work brims with cultural references and iconography.
Through the repetition of symbols and images, he has forged a distinctive visual language that conveys a personal stream of consciousness, feelings, and imagery. His autobiographical pieces often exhibit striking black outlines, vivid pop art colors, and repetitive motions, all creating a sense of quiet in the face of his inner turmoil. These seemingly vibrant and joyful works contrast with the frozen, disquieting smiles of the depicted figures, revealing an underlying tension and complexity.
Over a decade, Goldstein produced a unique series of artist books, replete with drawings on each page of second-hand books. These books serve as illustrative diaries and a compendium of images. Complementing his work on books and drawings, Goldstein has assembled a collection of small-scale found objects, which he covers with Tipp-Ex and embellishes with black ink drawings. As a descendant of immigrants and Holocaust survivors, he harbors a deep fascination for the symbolic power of objects, especially in a household devoid of familial photographs or objects symbolizing inherited memory. His collection includes everyday items, like spoons and knives, each bearing both a decorative charm and an inherent sense of irony.
In the attached video, Goldstein elaborates on his artistic philosophy, framing his artist books as unorthodox comics that defy genre conventions and narrate tales of “non-sense”.
The featured video Studio Visit with Gary Goldstein is part of the web series Yotsrim by Shachaf Dekel. Yotsrim includes five seasons and 73 episodes. The series won the Best Documentary award at the NYC Web Fest in 2019.
