Bezalel Ben-Chaim

I grew up in the desert town of Beer-Sheva, in southern Israel. Being hyperactive, I often skipped school, choosing instead to spend my days alone, wandering into the desert that surrounds the town, the wilderness always a short walking distance from the sheltered residential area.

Many years have passed; I have moved, and no longer live within walking distance of the desert -- but the desert lives on within me. The searing sun; The dry heat; The dust, the sweat, the solitude. The slower tempo of the desert time. Years after moving north, to live in a cooler place, I still feel that unforgiving intensity within me, carrying it everywhere I go, as well as recognizing that quality in people around me. And when I shoot photos, be it in central Tokyo or the city of London, the resulting images are dusty excerpts from my childhood memories.

Photography Studies: The art institute of Chicago
BFA degree: Bezalel Academy of art & design, Jerusalem
MFA degree: Hamidrasha school of arts

Solo exhibitions
2020 (Corona postponed; TBD) – Space/Time continuum. Indie Gallery, Tel-Aviv
2018 - Time, light – Video & photography. Kandinof House, Tel-Aviv. Curator: Naama Klainman.
2017 - Wedding season 2014-2016. Pizzaron Gallery, Tel-Aviv. Curator: Ephrat Belosesky.

Selected Group shows
2020 - Fresh Paint TLV, artist selection. Curators: Yifat Gurion & Raz Shapira
2020 – Sacred Landscapes. Mizpe Hayamim Gallery, Northern Israel. Curator: Sharon Toval
2019 – What the matter wants. Givon Art Forum Gallery, Tel-Aviv. Curator: Nicola Trezzi
2019 – Guerilla Cams. Binyamin Gallery, Tel-Aviv. Curator: Chana Anushik Manhaimer
2019 – July 4th. Hayarkon 19 Gallery, Tel-Aviv. Curator: Miri Segal
2019 – Homage to the late Yoram Lehman. The Cube, Jerusalem. Curator: Etty Schwartz
2018 - Flexibility Exercises – Hayarkon 19 gallery, Tel-Aviv. Curator: Noga Davidson.
2017 – Remote Viewing Israel-Poland, MOCAK, Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow, Poland. Curators: Maayan Shellef and Agnieszka Sachar