Ziv Tsfati Frank

Lives and works in Gedera, Israel

Artist statement

I came across the world of relief sculpture during my BFA studies, and was captivated by it ever since. Something about its minimalism, in space and in depth while portraying something bigger, felt like it has a direct path into my heart. I find it challenging to describe fabric or flesh, while working with ceramic or glass and using light and shadowing to create colorfulness. There is no limit to how the body can express emotions, I always find a new posture to express myself. sometimes I am looking for a precise moment, physically or emotionally, and other times the process reveals the image I will work with. It's impossible to connect the dots looking forward, they connect only when looking backwards. In my process I take pictures of myself in different positions. After these sessions I choose an image to work with. I decide on the scale, it is always a smaller scale to some extent, usually never 1:1. It comes through as a sculpturing method, which is crucial to me, and connects me to a long line of artists who were working centuries before me sculpturing relief. I start from a tile like, made from clay, usually sculpting into it, starting forming the outlines of the image, and step by step falling into the details. I have no intention of being realistic, I emphasize what is important to me, and I feel free doing so, while keeping the image readable to the viewer's eyes. The viewer's eyes are participating and constructing the image, as they are sculpting a...

Artwork