Shosh Bettelheim | To This Day

Curator:  Yael Goldman

"A gift.

Expression of though and a throbbing of the heart.

A human truth, as the truths of man.

The curving bends of realizing the perfect, the true, the absolute.

Doing that which is alive and active in this world.

Creation."

Written by Shosh, aged 17, this poem paves the artist's path to this day.

Shosh Bettelheim, interdisciplinary artist, painter, and glass sculptor.

Shosh Bettelheim has been painting her entire life, and for the past 13 years has also taken up glass sculpting.

The highs and lows of her life take form in her art, a representation of her personal story, turning them into a collective tale.

Her hyper-realistic works are influenced by surrealism and symbolism. Shosh remains true to her artistic path, overtly aiming to send a message with every piece. The titles of her artwork hint at her intentions, but deep examination and observation are required in order to fully perceive their meaning. The artist does not date her work, for she refuses to frame them in time.

The themes of her work include insights and reflections on the human condition and herself as a woman, partner, mother and grandmother; the complexity of relations between man and world, the individual's interpersonal relationships, feelings and emotions; an invitation to the viewer into the consciousness of the artist, revealing the dichotomy of human nature. They encompass time, transience, a yearning for the past, expectation and faith in the future; a fear for the fate of the nation and the world as a whole.

Her two-dimensional works employ traditional techniques: charcoal sketching, pen, pastels and ink with brush, quill, or airbrush; aquarelle on paper, or oil on canvas. Many of her works combine various techniques.

Her glass sculptures employ two techniques:

Fusing – merging thin layers of glass, a technique used in making decorative houseware. Shosh has made this technique her own, a means for creating transparent sculpture art, similar to sculpting in water paint.

Patte De Verre – glass casting through which a lumped matter becomes milkier via a process of sand spraying. Many of her works mix the techniques to form a blend of ragged bulks and transparent gentleness.

Shosh Bettleheim's worlds, painting and sculpting, intertwine and complement one another.

This exhibition is a "halfway summary" of sorts, an opportunity for the artist to convey her psychological and philosophical statements in her own words.

Shosh follows her artistic path, true to herself… to this day.

Yael Goldman