Abstract and large scale: Lior Modan comes home to Israel

Tel Aviv-born, New York-based artist Lior Morden brings his work home for a first major solo show in his native Israel
Tel Aviv-born, New York-based artist Lior Morden brings his work home for a first major solo show in his native Israel. Pictured: Banana Ears Searching For a Ginger, 2013
(Image credit: Lior Modan )

Tel Avivian by birth, and breeding, Lior Modan lives and works in New York City. With a new solo show, 'Wild Rice', he's coming home for his first comprehensive showing in Israel, at Tel Aviv's ex-tahini factory-turned-gallery Contemporary by Golconda.

'As a contemporary artist who is also an immigrant, I am always hovering over a place of non-belonging like an astronaut', said Modan. In this latest show, the works, enigmatic and surprising, find their own worthy sense of place as large-scale deliveries. Often hard to define, the work, according to Modan, is a 'Compost Concert' – presenting various attempts to form a bridge between the image and the painted surface. 'I feel that the works share a physical instability that keep them morphing as you spend more time with them,' he explains.

In Sweat the W, a frozen, ginger mattress leaves its mark inside a rosy, summery painting. Lugete Veneres poses a quote from Ezra Pound’s Hellenistic poetry on canvas with a sample of families of penguins, Marc Jacobs design, torches and even pipes. As for Blue Velvet, dancers revolve over the artist’s face with a surprising mountain view. 'I appreciate,' Modan explains, 'that odd characteristic of artworks constantly changing in their search for a new audience.'

’Wild Rice’ opens later this month at Contemporary by Golconda -

’Wild Rice’ opens later this month at Contemporary by Golconda - an atmospheric, converted tahini factory. Pictured: Blue Velvet, 2015

(Image credit: Lior Modan)

The works share a physical instability that reflects the artist’s astronaut-like feelings of ’non-belonging’.

The works share a physical instability that reflects the artist’s astronaut-like feelings of ’non-belonging’. Pictured: Domestic Prints, 2013

(Image credit: Lior Modan)

Lugete Veneres (Cry Cupids), takes its name from a number of different poems, including ’Ladies’ by Ezra Pound and Lord Byron’s ’

Lugete Veneres (Cry Cupids), takes its name from a number of different poems, including ’Ladies’ by Ezra Pound and Lord Byron’s ’Translation from Catullus: Lugete Veneres Cupidinesque’

(Image credit: Lior Modan)

The works express the quality of searching for an audience and a home, as nodded towards in this piece, No Forgiveness For the Bad Detective, 2015

The works express the quality of searching for an audience and a home, as nodded towards in this piece, No Forgiveness For the Bad Detective, 2015

(Image credit: Lior Modan)

INFORMATION

’Wild Rice’ is on view from 24 December. For more information, visit Contemporary by Golconda’s website (opens in new tab)

ADDRESS

Contemporary by Golconda
Herzl Sreet 117
Tel Aviv-Yafo, 66555

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Daniel Scheffler is a storyteller for The New York Times and others. He has a travel podcast with iHeart Media called Everywhere (opens in new tab) and a Substack newsletter, Withoutmaps (opens in new tab), where he shares all his wild ways. He lives in New York with his husband and their pup.