Efrat Eyal

Artist Statement

In my work, I respond to the time and space in which I create. I work with different ceramic materials and use a variety of techniques, while relating to traditional ceramic work. The subjects of my works are connected to the multiple layers of Israeli society, to the place I live in, and to my being an artist, a mother and a wife.

One of the subjects I frequently deal with is the constant tension that accompanies female artists who practice their art and at the same time tend their home and family. I named this combination of artist and housewife "THE ART WIFE PROJECT." In this framework I examine how femininity is perceived in society, what are its common stereotypes and features, what are the expectations that format the female gender identity, and what is the role and importance of art in both society and, more specifically, in my personal life.

My artistic language is based on the act of dismantling and assembling. My works deal with the "interpretation" of structural and aesthetic codes found in one world and adapted to another. The transition between languages, mediums and fields of action, and what is lost and gained in the process interests me. In other words, it is the misinterpretations that create and lead to new meanings.

My working process combines cast and handmade objects, and glazes fired at a variety of temperatures. I choose techniques, colors, and styles in accordance with the message I wish to convey. My creative process is not confined to the studio; it is constantly happening as I collect images and forms from the physical and virtual worlds that surround me.

In my studio, I have a large collection of plaster molds that I constantly enrich. The clay casts that I make from them have become my own personal visual vocabulary. These are the building blocks of my work. The elements I choose to cast are usually every day, industrial mass-production objects that I gather from my home and surroundings. From the graphic images that I collect I create iron based decals or underglaze prints that add yet more complexity to the work.

-- Efrat Eyal

Bio

Efrat Eyal is a freelance artist and a scholar educated in Fine Art, Biology, and currently studying Art Therapy. Eyal is a member of the Israeli Ceramic Artists Association and an active artist who works as a teacher and lecturer in the A. Barrer Art Center in Ma’alot- Tarshicha. Over the years, Eyal’s experience has come to include various artistic fields such as; graphic designing for multimedia and web studios, designing for a glassware factory, and creating glass works. The wide range of artistic experiences is evident in her ceramic work and art. Eyal was born in Tel-Aviv in 1967 and currently lives with her family in Hila, a small community located in northern Israel.