Culture
Forest Veins" - Inbar Pianko" Solo Exhibition at Global Art Gallery, August 4–29, 2026
Michali Adler and Dr. Galia Duchin ArieliCurators:
Born
into one of the founding families of Kiryat Ono, Inbar Pianko grew up in a home
immersed in art. In her own words:
"Through painting, I escape into nature, to which I feel deeply connected. I flee the noise of the city to the forest, to the jungle with its diverse trees, to tigers, lions, snakes, the earth, the mountains, and the desert. With my brush, I bring them all into my home. For me, engaging with nature and with art involves both inward
and outward contemplation, and together they serve as a
form of healing for the soul."
Her
profound connection to nature is also reflected in a unique series of small
black-and-white works created in memory of Jane Goodall, the renowned
primatologist who spent more than fifty years living among chimpanzees and
studying every aspect of their lives.
Many
of Pianko's colorful paintings begin with an eye—sometimes concealed within
dense foliage, yet always present. The eye observes, perceives, understands,
and through it the act of painting unfolds. Several works feature the eye of a
tiger: silent, vigilant, and intensely focused. It is the eye of a predator
watching its prey, poised to leap at any moment. As the artist explains:
"There
is someone hiding within the thicket in each of us. The jungle is full of
dangers, yet it also contains paradise. It holds infinite beauty alongside
constant vigilance and threat."
Standing
before these paintings, the viewer experiences a dreamlike world where beauty
and harmony are interwoven with fear and danger; serenity exists alongside
tension and alertness. Dreams allow us to encounter the tiger—the predator.
Within dreams, we may confront trauma, the roots of fear and anxiety, and begin
the process of healing. Through the eye that sees, dreams, and understands,
healing becomes possible.
Pianko
escapes from one place while drawing both herself and the viewer toward
another. Even when that place is distant, intimidating, or seemingly
unattainable, she embraces it and transforms it into highly realistic paintings
that evoke a magical reality existing within a difficult one. The duality
inherent in dreams is fully realized in her art: like a dreamer inhabiting a
wondrous dream while a harsh reality continues to exist beyond it.
During
the past six months, snakes have entered Pianko's work. Like the tiger, the
snake is a tangible symbol of fear and danger. Yet these snakes appear without
heads—only their twisting bodies remain, winding around tree trunks, their
sinuous lines becoming the very texture of the trees themselves. At times the
works are joined into diptychs, and occasionally into triptychs, extending
their serpentine lines seamlessly from one panel to the next, suggesting
endless continuity.
According
to the artist, this continuity carries an important message: a call and a hope
for the preservation of nature, which is gradually disappearing, and at the
same time a plea for the continuity and resilience of our own country,
surrounded by predators on every side.
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