Relational Aesthetics with Jacob Wexler

Jacob Wexler was born in Latvia and studied art in Hamburg. He immigrated to Palestine in 1935 and settled in Haifa. He was one of the founders of the ‘New Horizons’ group and was also the director of the Avni Institute art school. Wexler suffered from the trauma of expulsion from Europe, an experience that manifested itself through expressive paintings, a style that had undergone a process of abstraction. Wexler worked with strong colours and contoured shapes, and drew inspiration from the landscape of Haifa, a city characterised by a combination of Eastern and Western architecture; a city where Jews and Arabs, both religious and secular, co-exist in harmony; a port city where the sea is visible from every angle; and a destination for boats carrying Jewish refugees, one of whom might have been Wexler himself.

The artistic addition made by Gil & Moti points at the refugees who are still crossing the same sea nowadays, hoping to finish their journey at some safe haven and start a new life.