Matan Ben Tolila
Matan Ben Tolila was born in Kibbutz Yavne in 1978. He lives and works in Jerusalem.
Matan Ben Tolila’s work hangs on moments in which reality and abstraction co-exist. His work methods include acts of repetition, distortion, filling, and subtracting. Ben Tolila investigates issues of mobility, stability, and control – or lack thereof, suggesting several possibilities simultaneously. The Artist paints mental landscapes as though they were exterior landscapes. He tantalizes us with familiar and tangible objects, in which he embeds unmissable traces of illusion and a puzzle, a labyrinth, as though explicitly telling us: the image before you is in my mind and in your mind only.
The scenery portrayed in Ben Tolila’s earlier paintings featured temporary structures of different kind and function, constructed with simple, almost schematic elements. These temporary structures spread out and conquer the landscape while at the same time blocking it, dictating scale, perspective, and narrative. The landscapes seem to describe nowhere specific; painted with intensive opaque brushstrokes and strong non-natural colors they reflected detachment, unease, and tension.
In his recent series of paintings, Ben Tolila created a journey diary of sorts. imbued with sober longing and yearning for faraway and exceptional places. In these works he creates an enigmatic composition of a painting within a painting set in the landscape, on which he projects images taken from plays, childhood books, and old painting books. The images differ greatly in their nature and context but share the same search for reason, idea, and the persistent demand for painting.
Matan Ben Tolila graduated from Bezalel Art Academy in 2006, and from the Bezalel MFA program in 2010.
Ben Tolila has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions, such as: “Journeys” Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Shesh-Besh, Petach Tikva Museum of Art; The Same Sea/A Different Coast, Galerie 61, Bielefeld, Germany; Vacuum, RawArt Gallery, Tel Aviv; Open Call for Snow, Gallery 39, Tel Aviv; City Gallery, Kfar Saba; Travelers’ Hut, Bezalel Gallery, Tel Aviv; Rock Paper& Scissors, The New Gallery, The Artists’ Studios, Jerusalem
Ben Tolila has been awarded the Excellence in Painting in 2006 by the Fine Art department, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem. He has received the Excellence of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation award in 2005, 2006, and 2007, and the Presser Award for Excellence in painting by the Bezalel Academy.
Matan Ben Tolila
Born 1978, Kvutzat Yavne, Israel Lives and works in Jerusalem
Education
2008-2010 Master of Fine Arts, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Tel-Aviv. 2002-2006 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem.
Awards and Scholarships
2015 Artis, Artport&Asylum Arts- Artist Career Development Program.
2014 schir residency@berlin, Friederike schir foundation, June- August
2007 Bachelor Scholarship, America- Israel Cultural Foundation.
2006 The Mitchell Presser Prize, Department of Fine Arts, Bezalel.
2005 Excellence Scholarship, America- Israel Cultural Foundation.
Solo Exhibitions
2019 The Great Reef, Duo exhibition with Ayala Landow, Kav 16 Gallery, Tel- Aviv.
2018 Bat Kol, ,Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel- Aviv.
2015 The young Mariner,Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel- Aviv .
2014 “Notes to the wind”, “Art- Beijing 2014” Art- Fair, at the Israel’s embassy booth, Beijing- China.
2013 “Moon walks”, Noga Gallery, Tel- Aviv.
2012 “Moved room” – Collaboration with German artist Klaus Kleine, special project at Fresh Paint 05 Art fair, Tel- Aviv. Curator: Friederike Schir.
2011 “The Same Sea / A Different Coast” – Collaboration with German artist Klaus Kleine, Galerie-61, Germany- Bielefeld. Curator: Friederike Schir
2010 “Travelers’ Hut”/ “Salame 10”, MFA Graduate Show, Bezalel Gallery, Tel-Aviv.
2007 “Roaming”, Solo Gallery, Tel Aviv. Curator: Dana Taggar
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 25 Years to Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv
2019 No Body, No Land, No Blood, No Country, Bar David Museum, Israel
2018 End of Ends, The National Library of Israel, Jerusalem
2018 watershed moments, group exhibition, luz art gallery, los Angeles
2018 luna, group exhibition, neve schechter, tel-aviv
2018 end of ends, group exhibition, the national library of Israel, Jerusalem
2018 home/guest, group exhibition, the new gallery artists studios, Jerusalem
2018 Fresh Paint 10, Tel-Aviv.
2018 Wanderers #1, Open University Campus, Raanana
2017 A Man’s Man, The Bezeq building, Jerusalem
2017 Hall talk #2,The New Gallery, The Artists’ Studios, Jerusalem
2017 Salon Hacubia 2017, Hacubia Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
2017 Water, Heart, Faces, Jerusalem Biennial 2017, Jerusalem, Israel
2017 T Junction, Hamidrasha Gallery, Tel-Aviv
2017 The owls are not what they seem #2, Romano House, Tel-Aviv
2017 A journey in the fog, Noga Gallery, Tel-Aviv
2016 Arena, The New Gallery, The Artists’ Studios, Jerusalem
2016 The 6Th Biennale for Drawing, The artists’ House, Jerusalem
2016 The other, the other, Ha’Miffal, Jerusalem
2016 NordART, At the Israel Pavilion, Budelsdorf, Germany
2016 Acquaintance: Chapter 1, The New Gallery, The Artists’ Studios
2016 Re-Seek, START Gallery, Jaffa
2016 Modernism 2016, Rosenbach Contemporary, Jerusalem
2015 Donation-Lewinsky library Project, Makom Le’omanut-Art Space, Tel-Aviv
2015 Triagle, Carmel Forest Spa Resort Art Collection, Israel
2015 Summerset, Noga Gallery, Tel-Aviv
2015 Between here and there, Beit-Avichai, Jerusalem
2014 International Art symposium, museum villa Bohm, Neustadt am der weinstrasse, Germany. curator: Ralph Gelbert.
2014 Journeys, The Israel Museum, The Youth wing, Jerusalem. Curator: Kobi Ben- Meir.
2014 Benefit- An Israeli Art Auction, Stephen H. Wise temple, Los- Angeles, USA. Curator: Sharon Zoldan.
2014 ” Searching for the concealed”, P8 Gallery, Tel- Aviv. Curator: Shimon Lev.
2014 “Teachers 2014”, Ramla Regional Gallery. Curator: David Wakstein & Amitai Ring
2013 “Spaces in the North”- selected works from Bank- Leumi collection, Hazor-
Haglilit. Curator: Smadar Sheffi.
2013 “Spaces in the South”- selected works from Bank- Leumi collection, Sderot. Curator:
Smadar Sheffi.
2013 “Fresh paint 6” Art- fair, with Noga Gallery, Tel- Aviv.
2012 “Fresh paint 5” Art- fair, with Noga Gallery, Tel- Aviv.
2011 “Open call for snow”, 39 Gallery Tel-Aviv. Curator: Danny Yahav-Brown.
2011 “Shesh-Besh”, Petach Tikva Museum of Art. Curator: Hadas Maor.
2011 “Vacuum”, Rawart Gallery Tel-Aviv. Curator: Noga Davidson.
2011 “Paper, rock & scissors”, The New Gallery, The Artists’ Studios, Jerusalem. Curator:
Hedva Shemesh.
2010 AICF Gala Art Installation, Lincoln Jazz Center, New-York.
2010 “2010-2011”, Hanina Gallery, Tel-Aviv.
2010 “Which Created Bezalel”, City Gallery, Kfar-Saba.
2010 “Manofim”, the New Gallery, the Artists’ Studios, Jerusalem.
2010 “Manofim”, May gallery, musrara, Jerusalem.
2010 “Going Out”, P8 Gallery, Tel-Aviv.
2009 Secret Art 4, Mani’s House art space, Tel- Aviv.
2009 “New Horizons”, Ramla Regional Gallery.
2008 Ramat Hasharon Biennale for Young Artists.
2008 “Fresh Paint 01”,The Young Israeli Art Fair, Tel Aviv.
2008 “first news”, Art Center, Mevaseret Zion.
2007 “Artic 9”, Exhibition of the Recipients of the Sharett Scholarship for Young
Israeli Artists, Tel Aviv University Gallery.
2006 “Painting Now”, Bernard Gallery, Tel Aviv.
2006 “Bezalel 100 Terminal 1”, Final Graduate Exhibition, Tel Aviv.
2006 “Artic 8”, Exhibition of the Recipients of the Sharett Scholarship for Young
Israeli Artists, Tel Aviv University Gallery.
2005 “Artic 7”, Exhibition of the Recipients of the Sharett Scholarship for Young
Israeli Artists, Ramat Gan Museum.
February 26, 2021
December 21, 2017
September 10, 2015
January 24, 2013
Oct 28, 2013
Mar 22, 2013
Feb 28, 2013
Oct 28, 2011
Sep 19, 2011
Aug 06, 2011
Dec 28, 2010
Oct 30, 2010
Recent News
March 28, 2015
Matan Ben Tolila, Blue Horse, Oil on Canvas, 155x85cm, 2015
Matan Ben Tolila,No strings attached ,Oil on canvas, 128x160cm, 2013
March 27, 2014
Matan Ben Tolila, Screen, Oil on canvas,135×200 cm, 2011
March 27, 2014
Matan Ben Tolila,Raft,150×185 ,2014,oil on canvas