Spinning Wave: Works by Dafna Gilboa and Hilda Merom

I curated Spinning Wave: Works by Dafna Gilboa and Hilda Merom as part of my directorship at the USC Hillel Art Gallery.

The show featured paintings by Gilboa and sculptures by Merom. Spinning Wave ran from February 27th to April 24th, 2011.

PRESS RELEASE

Los Angeles, CA {February 15, 2011} The art gallery at USC Hillel is proud to announce the opening of Spinning Wave, featuring abstract acrylic pours from Dafna Gilboa’s Splash series, as well as stone and saggar firing pieces by Israeli artist Hilda Merom. An opening reception will be held on Sunday, February 27th, from 3 to 5pm, with brief remarks at 4.

Featuring both painting and sculpture, Spinning Wave integrates elements of dialectic polarity and synthesis in relation not only the creative process, but to the interior rhythms of intuition, movement, and personal experience. Whether through Gilboa’s dynamic waves of richly balanced pigment or the distinctly organic and textured surfaces of Merom’s sculptures, Spinning Wave dives into a lively visual discussion regarding art’s relationship to the natural world.

Spinning Wave runs through April 27, 2011. All featured work will be available for purchase, and price lists will be available on request.

The USC Hillel Art Gallery is committed to presenting challenging and enlightening exhibitions dedicated to the pursuit of religious and cultural diversity. For more information, contact Sarah Brin, Director of the USC Hillel Gallery, at sbrin@usc.edu.

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About the Artists:

Dafna Gilboa’s first passion in life was dance. She danced since a very young age and was a member of several dance groups. Raising a family of three beautiful daughters had led her to translate my creative outlet from dance to painting.

Gilboa studied art with the late Dr. Alex Vilumsons, from whom she learned to admire his wisdom and philosophies. Painting in oil, acrylic, and watercolor, she later joined the group he formed, Artist Co-op 7. The group was founded mainly for the purpose of developing artists’ personal growth. Challenging each other and being there for one another played an important role in this process.

Gilboa is a member of the art panel of Artist Co-op 7, and have taken an active role in their teaching program. She has been teaching watercolor painting at Every Woman’s Village, as well as at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles for the past seven years. She also exhibits throughout Los Angeles and Europe. You can visit her website at www.dafnasart.com.

Hilda Merom has had a life-long relationship with clay art, starting in her youth in Argentina and continuing in Israel at the Tel-Hai College’s Clay Art Department. During a stay in the US she became a full time student of Clay Art at the Florida International University under the guidance of Professor William Burke. During this time of intense study she became acquainted with the various firing techniques of the Far East and participated in several workshops conducted by Paul Soldner, Don Reitz, Coleman, Keren Karnes, Berenson, Rudi Autio, Peter Voulkos and more.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry sponsored Hilda’s Participation in the Art in Residence Program in Sanbao, Jingdezhen, China, where she was featured in an exhibition at the Sanbao Art Gallery. In August 2009 was selected to show her work in Gangjin, South Korea, this trip was also sponsored by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and Gangjin Exhibition organizers. In 2003 Hilda Merom was awarded a further bursary to spend two weeks in the UK as a guest of the Designer Crafts Foundation.   

Hilda teaches in private classes at her studio, gives workshops and slide presentation about her work. You can learn more about her work at www.hildamerom.com.

Installation view of “Spinning Wave” at USC Hillel.

 

 

“Splash,” Dafna Gilboa. Acrylic on canvas. 48 x 48.