Israeli artist, Chanoch Ben-Dov, a resident of Rosh Pina in the
Upper
Galilee, uses special techniques to create various Judaica articles such as Hanukkah
menorahs, memorial lights and exquisite decorations for the home and yard.
The materials used in most of his work are stone, iron and glass. Some of the
menorahs are lit by olive oil, as in antiquity.
The artist's biography reflects the history of
the state of Israel. Ben-Dov was born
in 1946 in Kibbutz Dan, in the Upper Galilee. His parents, East
European
Jews who survived the Holocaust, arrived in Israel before it was
an independent
state. Among the first generation of children born on the kibbutz,
Chanoch was
educated with the values of Zionism, social justice and love of
the land. After his
military service, he was among the founders of a new kibbutz in
the Golan Heights.
today, still close to the land, Chanoch Ben-Dov lives and creates
in Rosh Pina,
one of the oldest and most picturesque settlements in Israel.
Ben-Dov's creations reflect a strong link between
his family's roots and his
childhood landscape - the Galilee and the Land of Israel. An example
of this link
is the "six cane menorah", a piece dedicated to the memory of the
six million
victims of the Holocaust.
In his work, Chanoch Ben-Dov combines stone from
the Galilee, glass and iron.
All these materials, basic and firm, symbolize the survival of the
Jewish people and
its solid bond to the Land of Israel. The pieces, full of expression
and strength, are
designed in a contemporary style based on ancient motifs.
Chanoch Ben-Dov's creations have been purchased
and decorate many places,
including the Jewish Museum in New York and many other homes and
institutions,
throughout the US, and particularly in New York.
Ben-Dov exhibited at Art Expo '98 and at the 1996
Judaica Exhibition at Binyaney
Ha'uma, Jerusalem.
Orders for special pieces, according to size and theme required, are accepted.
