"Simple Things": Eli Gross - A single Exhibition at ARTILLERY Gallery, Shvil Hatnufa st no 3 Tel Aviv
In the exhibition "Simple Things", artist Eli Gross presents an artistic journey that echoes the voices of destruction and hope, offering new meaning to concepts of existence in an era of war. Standing face to face with the complex Israeli reality, Gross unravels the associative connection between material and outcome, inviting us to reconsider the aesthetics of fragility and the strength inherent in simplicity.
The exhibition is divided into two parts. In the first space, which also serves as the artist’s studio, a chilling testimony is presented to the horrific massacre that occurred on Simchat Torah in Kibbutz Be’eri. From the Kedem family home — most of which was consumed by fire, though the family miraculously survived — Gross collected objects and reconstructed a scorched family living environment. A soot-stained clock on the wall remains frozen at 5:45, the moment when time stood still. Toothbrushes, a chair, and children's toys all stand as silent witnesses to devastation. Behind the installation, blooming plants gathered from the home's garden invite a closer look, hinting at the greatness of the miracle of survival and a deep faith in the power of life and continuity.
At the center of the space lies a heap of missile fragments — rockets fired at Israel from Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran — alongside Iron Dome interceptors. Some remain fused together from the force of impact; attacker and defender, crushed and welded into one reality. This heap serves as Gross’s main raw material. He cuts, grinds, and welds, transforming these instruments of destruction into objects of beauty: decorative pieces, pendants, mezuzah cases, and sculptures — some with minimal intervention, allowing the fragments to speak for themselves. By removing them from their original context, Gross emphasizes their aesthetic form, inviting us to see them in a new light — redeemed from their intended role as weapons of war.
Eli Gross creates from the heart of contemporary reality, from his identity as an Israeli Jew and a deep inner drive. Not satisfied with his role in military reserve duty, he assumes an additional mission, shared with his audience: to confront reality and strive, through new perspectives, to reveal goodness. "Simple Things" is a powerful call to look beyond destruction, to find beauty and hope even in the harshest remnants of existence, and to believe in the power of art to heal and transform perception.
Etay Gabay — Curator
