Lavie, Raffie (1937-2007) - 2004 Untitled
A painter, educator, art critic, music connoisseur, and curator, Raffi Lavie was the most central, charismatic figure in the art scene in Israel for the past four decades until his death in 2007. Influenced by Paul Klee, Jean Dubuffet, and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as by local artists such as Aviva Uri and Arie Aroch, he introduced the avant-garde of his time to Israel by adapting its components into a local discourse. Lavie was the founder of the "10+" group which started its activities in 1965 in a series of theme exhibitions that brought home current international trends. He was also the key figure in the style that formed around him in the 1970s, which would become known as the "Want of Matter" due to its adherence to inexpensive, ascetic materials such as plywood, and the use of collage; a style associated with the city of Tel Aviv, conveying urban, secular, local values untainted by the narratives of any given ideology.
Lavie, Raffie (1937-2007) - 2004 Untitled
A painter, educator, art critic, music connoisseur, and curator, Raffi Lavie was the most central, charismatic figure in the art scene in Israel for the past four decades until his death in 2007. Influenced by Paul Klee, Jean Dubuffet, and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as by local artists such as Aviva Uri and Arie Aroch, he introduced the avant-garde of his time to Israel by adapting its components into a local discourse. Lavie was the founder of the "10+" group which started its activities in 1965 in a series of theme exhibitions that brought home current international trends. He was also the key figure in the style that formed around him in the 1970s, which would become known as the "Want of Matter" due to its adherence to inexpensive, ascetic materials such as plywood, and the use of collage; a style associated with the city of Tel Aviv, conveying urban, secular, local values untainted by the narratives of any given ideology.