Nahum Tevet

Nahum Tevet builds complex, planar sculptures from wooden boards, sheets of metal and glass. The variation of Tevet’s materials and textures emphasize the geometric dissonance that is fundamental to his aesthetic. Tevet came of age in the late 1960s under the influence of Minimalism and emerging post-Minimalisms, yet his work is conversant with the legacy of Constructivism and modernist European architecture.  His compositions blur the division between inner and outer space, complicating the boundaries and sanctity of the artwork. Tevet’s constructions are displayed either directly on the floor or mounted on the wall. For Tevet, the architectural planes of an exhibition space are not only a useful conveyance for the artwork, but also act as compositional elements seamlessly integrated into the visual logic of the sculptures themselves.  The intricacies of the sculptures and intentional confusion of sightlines produce disorientation, impeding attempts to assimilate the works into easily digestible statements. 

Nahum Tevet (b. 1946 Messilot Kibbutz, Israel) has been the subject of solo exhibitions in Israel, Italy, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, including a 2007 mid-career retrospective at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.  His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; MUMOK, Vienna, Austria; and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel among others. Tevet lives and works in Tel Aviv.