Hilla Toony Navok
Hilla Toony Navok was born in Tel Aviv, where she lives and works.
Toony Navok creates installations that combine sculptural objects and colorful drawings: architectural-constructive environments with an airy, drawing-like nature that range from the abstract to the concrete.
Navok tracks high Modernism and abstraction in popular consumer products in a practice based on extraordinary constructs. She pits consumer and industrial products firmly within abstraction, voiding function. The monumental yet fragile, linear constructed sculptures she forms are made of every-day practical objects and popular design elements, revealing their hidden abstract forms while glancing to canonical periods of art. Known for her playful sculptural use of vernacular materials (metal surfaces, pipes, aluminum poles, PVC fabric, cleaning and shelving units product), she investigates the very notion of display rather than simply present ready-mades. With that, she examines the cultural and ideological underpinnings of design in the consumer production process, and the assimilation of the history of Modernism in contemporary consumer culture and our place within it.
Navok’s colorful drawings, composed of compressed and dense lines that assemble into what seems like a sculptural object, continue her investigation of the affinity between the two dimensional and the three dimensional, drawing and object as well as the moment between stability and collapse.
Toony Navok graduated from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design MFA program (2009-2007). Selected solo exhibitions: Circle 1 gallery, Berlin (2015); Center of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv (2015); Haifa Museum of Art; Local_30 Gallery, Warsaw (2010).
Selected group exhibitions: The Ashdod Museum of Art, Monart Centre; Neues Museum in Weimar (Germany); Rosenfeld Gallery (Tel Aviv); Sommer Contemporary Art Gallery (Tel Aviv); Kring-Ernst Gallery (Cologne); Rockefeller Museum (Jerusalem).
She exhibited a special solo project in Art Cologne (Germany) as part of “New Positions”, ARTLV – the Tel Aviv Biennial, Herzliya Biennial of Contemporary Art. She has received several awards, including the Givon Prize for young artists from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2011), and the Creative Encouragement Award of the Israel Ministry of Culture & Sport (2012).
Navok co-curated the second Herzliya Biennial of Contemporary Art (2009) and was co-editor of the art magazine “Picnic Magazine” (2011-2007).
Toony Navok
Lives and works in Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Education
2009-2007 Bezalel Academy of Art and Design – Master of Fine Art Program Studies
2005-2004 Continuation Program in fine art, Kalisher school of art Tel-Aviv.
2000-1995 The Wizo Hadasa College of Art and Design, Haifa.
Awards & Grants
2020 The Rapaport prize for a young and promising artist, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
2020 Discount Artistic Encouragement Award
2018 The Ministy of Culture and Sports prize, Israel
2018 Beatrice Kolliner Prize for a Young Israeli Artist, Israel Museum
2017 Yehoshua Rabinowitz Tel Aviv Foundation, Artist book grant
2017 The Israel Lottery Council for Culture and Arts Book grant
2017 “Wake up city” prize 3rd place with Yoni Raz Portugali
2016 The Israel Lottery Council for Culture and Arts Video grant
2015 Artport residency programe grant
2014 The 2014 Israel Lottery Council for Culture and Arts grant
2012 The Creativity Encouragement Award, the Israeli Ministry of Culture
2012 Artist-teacher Scholarship, the Israeli Ministry of Culture
2011 Samuel Givon Prize, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv
2009 Graduation with Excellence, Bezalel (MFA) program
2006 The Yehosua Rabinowitz Tel-Aviv Foundation, Grant for a solo show
2002 The America-Isreal Cultural Foundation, Scholarship (2001, 2002)
2001 The Dan Zakhem Foundation, Award for performance
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Front View, KM gallery, Berlin
2021 Waiting for the Sun, Herzliya Museum of Art
2019 Rolling Rooms, On curating, Zurich
2018 Extensions Hilla Toony Navok at Shemi’s Atelier, Atelier Shemi, Kibbutz Cabri
2017 Outlet, KM Gallery, Berlin
2016 A sign for things to come – HIT Gallery, Bratislava
2016 Golden Hands – duo show with David Adika, Artport, Tel Aviv
2015 Releasing a Butterfly – 2 person show with Eitan Ben Moshe at Alon Segev gallery, Tel Aviv
2015 Rounding Up the Hours, CCA, Tel Aviv, Curator: Chen Tamir
2015 Sur-Round-things, Due show with Jan Tichy, Circle1 gallery, Berlin
2013 Origins, Noga gallery, Tel Aviv
2010 New Infrastructures, lokal_30 gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2010 Panorama, Haifa Museum Of Art, curator: Rotem Ruff
2010 Scenery, Art Cologne, Germany, “new position for emerging artists”
2009 Tuxedo, as part of the Bezalel MFA graduates exhibition, curator: Sarit Shapira
2006 Frisbee,”saf project for young artists”, The artists’s house, Tel-Aviv, curator: Orly Hoffman
Group Exhibitions
2021 Looking ahead and Breathing Deeply, 10 Year for Atelier Shemi, Kabri
2020 Dissidents, Fountain Collective
2020 Shutters and Stairs, The Israel Museum
2019 25 Years to Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv
2019 World Art Tokyo Art Fair, Ginza Forum, Tokyo
2019 Less is More, the Diaghlev Hotel Gallery, Tel Aviv
2019 Back to Artport, Artport residency program, Tel Aviv
2019 Murals, The Israeli Center for Digital Art, Holon, Israel
2019 Beyond Bauhaus, Providence College Galleries, USA
2018 Measure, Givon Art Forum, Tel Aviv
2018 Domestics, Hansen House, Jerusalem.
2018 PRETTY SOON IF THIS KEEPS UP I’M GOING TO ENVELOP THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, Gdańsk City Gallery, Poland
2017 Five years, changing and growing, KM Gallery, Berlin
2017 Along the Line, Shemi Atelier, Kibbutz Cabri
2017 Local Compilation, Ashdod Museum of Art
2016 Once More, with Feeling, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, NYC
2016 Traces, the return of the paper, The 5th Biennale for Drawing in Israel, Artists House Jerusalem
2016 NonFinito, Artport Tlv residency program’s Fourth Year Exhibition, Tel Aviv
2016 Abstract Relief, The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery, Tel Aviv
2016 Peninsula, Hadar parking lot, Tel Aviv
2016 Open sketchbooks, Herzliya Museum of Art
2016 Girls just wanna have fun, The New Gallery Artists Studios Teddy, Jerusalem
2016 Made in Israel, Radtory Art Center, Guangzhou, China
2016 Drawings, Noga gallery, Tel Aviv
2016 Jam Session, Artport, Tel Aviv
2015 Objectonomy, Meet Factory, Prague
2015 The Crystal Palace & the Temple of Doom, Petach Tiqva Museum of Art
2014 Traces, Beyond Paper, The 5th Biennale for Drawing in Israel, Barbur gallery, Jerusalem
2014 A Matter of Lightness, Beit Michal, Rehovot
2014 Goods, Bat Yam Museum of Modern Art
2013 The Israeli Ministry of Culture prize 2012 receives, Ashdod Museum of Modern Art
2013 Invited by Daniel Laufer, Provinz Editions, Bochum
2013 Come Closer, Feinberg Projects, Tel aviv
2013 High celling, frishman 46, Tel Aviv
2013 Concrete Abstract, BAAD gallery, Tel Aviv
2012 Antropy, The Artists Studios Art Cube Gallery, Jerusalem
2012 Revisiting Rockefeller, Rockefeller Archaeological Museum, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, part of “Menofim” festival
2012 Open-closed-Open, Binyamin gallery, Tel aviv
2012 The big Masonite, Sommer Gallery
2012 Salon Talks, Zaritsky Artists House, Tel Aviv
2011 Electric Garden, Contemporery By Gloconda, Tel Aviv
2011 Power line, Binyamin gallery
2011 Meshek-bait, Kibutz Urim gallery
2011 Monkies, nine people, Alenbi st. passage
2010 De-construct, -Ernst Gallery, Cologne
2010 Lockmotion, 121 gallery, Tel Aviv
2010 Fresh Paint, Art Fair, Tel Aviv
2010 Artissima Art fair, Torino, with lokal_30 gallery
2009 From Laboratory to Project, Neues Museum, Weimar
2009 Sandstormes and Rainbows, Sara Asperger Gallery, Berlin
2009 Art TLV, the 2nd Tel Aviv Biennial
2009 Snakes and Ladders, Rosenfeld Gallery
2009 There must be something more than this, Kav 16 gallery
2009 A4, The Glasgow school of Art
2008 Flock, The Bezalel Academy gallery, Tel Aviv
2008 Educated, Hakita gallery, Tel Aviv
2007 The Rear (haa’oreff), The 1st Herzliya Biennial of Contemporary Art
2007 The Upper authority, The lilinbloom st. offices, Tel Aviv
2007 The hidden viewer of the Israeli Art, Tmoona Gallery, Tel Aviv
2007 Rockart, Mishkenot Sh’aananim center, Jerusalem
2005 Blurr 5th addition, CCA , Tel-aviv
2005 Conspiracy, the kalisher gallery
2003 Blurr 4th addition, CCA ,Tel-aviv
2003 Artik, the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship winners, Ramat-Gan Museum of Art
2002 Artik, the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship winners, The Tel-Aviv University gallery
Workshops & Residencies
2019 Fountainhead Residency, Miami
2018 Air-Paradise, Matsudo, Tokyo
2017 Meet Factory, Residency program, Prague
2015 Artport, Tel Aviv
2015 Meet Factory, Prague
2014 Artist Career Development Program, organized by: Asylum Arts, Artis, and Artport
2010 Lokal_30 gallery, artist in residence, Warsaw
2009 A4, workshop, Glasgow school of Art (MFA exchange program)
2008 “(off) white city summer seminar” Bezalel (MFA) program and Saic Chicago school (MFA) program
2008 including participation in “Tzofia” – a performance by Ernesto Pujol in Tel Aviv
2005 Public art workshop, Anne Bray, UCLA-Bezalel (MFA) program
October 31, 2013
Jul 14, 2015
Jul 07, 2015
Jul 05, 2015
Jun 27, 2014
Nov 17, 2013
Nov 15, 2013
Nov 15, 2013
Nov 13, 2013
Oct 26, 2013
Recent News
September 3, 2015
Toony Navok, Origins (Rise), 2013
July 20, 2015
Toony Navok,Untitled (Sign #2), Manipulated drawing, Digital print, 120x35cm, 2015
Toony Navok, With the Wind, With the Water (Surrounding Drawing), Video Performance, 2015
January 17, 2015
Toony Navok, Skip, Metal poles, Jump ropes, Laces, A shoe, 160x220cm, 2012
March 28, 2014
Toony Navok, SURROUNDINGS 008, photography,2007
December 21, 2013
Hilla Toony Navok, A Hose, metal grid, metal elements, scotch, PVC fabric, 2013