או האופטימיות: מקבץ תערוכות – אמנויות הבמה X אמנות פלסטית

Or Optimism

Ein Hod Art Gallery
January 10 – May 23, 2026
Curators: Zeela Kotler Hadari, Almog Gez

This cluster of exhibitions explores the relationship between the plastic arts and the performing arts—dance, theater, performance art, circus, comedy, and drama. The exhibitions create thematic and visual connections between these fields, examining the performative qualities of plastic art, the material evidence of the performing arts, and the role of the audience—both in its presence and its absence. The cluster aligns with an avant-garde tradition that sought to challenge traditional medium boundaries and examine art as an action in time, body, and space. The central exhibition within the cluster features a plastic arts display that hosted multidisciplinary performance events throughout its run.

The exhibition is grounded in two primary anchors: one is Cabaret Voltaire, a nightclub that operated in Zurich in 1916 and served as the birthplace of the Dada movement as well as an artistic counter-response to World War I. The cabaret was named after the 18th-century philosopher and satirist Voltaire and his famous novella Candide, or Optimism, from which the exhibition also borrows its title and core thematic anchor. The participating artists are Gil Bechar, Alex Ben-Ari, Leon Bronstein, Marcel Janco, Shirel Safra, Oren Fischer, Avishai Platek, and Eliane (Lola) Koutska.

Also featured in the cluster is the exhibition:

Interwoven Spirit (Ruach Klu'ah)- which presents works by four female artists dealing with the body and body art through dance, photography, sculpture, installation, video, performance, and choreography, featuring artists Natalie Afriat, Chen Cohen, Sof Nikritin, Dorothy Robbins, and Gertrud Kraus. 

Another exhibition, "The Acrobat, the Feather, and the Circus Rat", examines the circus as an arena for human experience—a place that allows stretching boundaries, showcasing eccentric characters, witnessing animals behaving like humans and vice versa, and experiencing life freely and creatively without inhibitions, featuring artists Evgeny Abeshaus, Avraham (Bera) Bezak, Benjamin Levy, and Dorothy Robbins. 

The cluster also includes "The Life of a Charcoal Stick – Evidence", a solo exhibition by Doaa Basis centering on the documentation of her performance piece "The Life of a Charcoal Stick," in which she explores the dialogue between body, material, and time. Here, the charcoal serves simultaneously as a tool and a subject; every physical movement, tremor, change in breath, or physical effort leaves a trace on the paper, and the remaining evidence of this action—large paper rolls covered in charcoal drawings—takes center stage.

The closing event for the exhibitions took place on May 23 2026, featuring an extensive, multidisciplinary performance program with the participation of both the exhibiting artists and guest artists.

Installation Photography: Raanan Tal