Meir Natif מאיר נטיף

Artist statement

I remember myself drawing and painting from very early age and always fascinated by the peculiarities and intricacies of shapes, forms and colors.
This fascination still persist to these days with an added interest in the inner meaning of those shapes.
I’m striving in my art to find the delicate balance between abstract and concrete mixing the realistic appearance of things with deep feeling of sublime.
There is an inner sound in every form that comes forwards within the interplay of textures, lines and colors.
For me the act of painting is listening to this inner sound by giving it specific shape, meaning and direction.
The stillness of the Zen gardens, the volumetric sensuality of Mesopotamian jars, the elegance of human forms are some of the examples of the sources of my inspiration. In the world of art I’m inspired by artist like Rothko, Morandi, Giacometti and Brancusi.
They are my true mentors and constant companions from whom I can always draw advice and consolation.
During the process of making my art, when I’m alone with my canvas, there is a point of stillness that rotates
in a counter direction of the turbulence of the outer worlds and such this point serves both as a place of refuge and strength which I hope is communicated by my art.

biographical notes

I was born in 1955 in Jaffa, Israel and lives and works in Israel. I studied art at both the Bat-Yam institute of Fine Arts and at the Avni Institute of Fine Arts in Israel between the years 1970-1972 and 1977-1980.

Since 1983, I display my art works in group and solo exhibitions in Israel and around the world.

Some of my exhibitions include:

Artists’ House, Tel Aviv, Israel (1985), Cité International des Arts, Paris, France (1987), Artists’ House, Jerusalem, Israel (1989), Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel (1993), The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery (1994),Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel (1994), Tüyap, Istanbul, Turkey (1994), Bad Kissingen, Germany (1994), Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, New-York, USA (1995),

Contemporary Art at Daphna Naor’s Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel (1997), Salon d'Automne, Paris, France (1999), Municipal Art Gallery, Rehovot, Israel (2000), Art space, Yavne, Israel SeeMann Contemporary art Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel (2003), Ashdod museum, Ashdod, Israel (2004), Engel Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel (2008), Hightouch, A Place For Contemporary Art, Herzliya, Israel (2011), Gerstein Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel (2013), Art Gallery, Yavne, Israel (2016), Jerusalem biennal, Jerusalem Israel (2017), Municipal Art Gallery, Rehovot, Israel (2019), Shared Art Salon, Tel-Aviv, Israel (2022).