Aarele Ben Arieh

 

Israeli Artist & Sculptor

 

 

Background

 

Ben Arieh was born in Haifa in 1955, and today his home and work base are in the Tzafririm agricultural settlement in the Ela Valley region. He grew up in Kiryat Gat and attended the local high school. From an early age, he was drawn to sculpture and displayed immense talent which he demonstrated by using metal and wood to create various objects. As a child and youth, Ben Arieh spent his free time in his father’s workshop, a designer and producer of farming equipment. In the company of the workshop’s highly experienced professionals, he acquired broad vocational training, mostly in the medium of metal. The capabilities and sound expertise he accumulated during this time enabled him to implement his diverse artistic ideas. His considerable talent for planning and creating was already evident at age fourteen and he played a significant role in the production processes of complex mechanical and constructive jobs. After completing his IDF military service in the Airborne Nachal battalion, he joined his friends at Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, where he set up a sculpture studio and a workshop for the development and improvement of agricultural machinery.

 

Studying Art

 

In the early eighties, Ben Arieh developed close ties with potters and carpenters in the Gaza Strip. He worked alongside them as an apprentice and considered them his guides and mentors in art. He drew inspiration from the Palestinian material culture, the unique colorful paintings of pilgrims returning from Mecca and the vast expanses of sand dunes. At the same time, he studied under the late sculptor Moshe Shek (Jook) and the painter Rafi Mintz. Shaping his artistic outlook, these years became his formative years and their influence is apparent throughout his work. Ben Arieh has maintained the legacy of his mentors, both Arabs and Jews, and over the years has taught both young and old in his Tzafririm studio.

 

His Work

 

Ben Arieh’s work is manifested in outdoor pieces that mingle the public with the environment. He specializes in creating projects that can be used physically by people, such as sculptured playgrounds, park shade, seating and integrated elements for use by the public. "His point of origin is anchored in the material, or rather in the point where the material and the concept meet. The what and how go hand in hand. His pieces are comprised of dozens of interconnected elements which join to form one flawlessly shaped whole..." (Izika Gaon, Curator of The Israel Museum, at the opening of “The Concept in the Material” exhibition, 1987). Ben Arieh calls himself “The Place Doctor." He creates from the impulse to touch and the desire to have an influence on the environment. His work strives for simplicity, expressing precision and making loud remarks by saying very little. His pieces are a blend between man, material and environment. The properties of material, imagery, usability and content are forever intertwined. Using natural materials, he creates sculptures which make people feel comfortable in their natural environment. "I endeavor for graceful truth that encourages forgiveness. My pieces offer a personal experience in both the private and public domain.” Motion and playfulness are central themes in Ben Arieh’s indoor pieces as well as his outdoor work. Thus, he invites the audience to communicate physically and unmediated with his work.

 

Noted Works & Exhibitions

 

Ben Arieh’s pieces feature in many public and private locations in Israel and around the world. His most prominent pieces, depicting his work style, include "The Whale Tails" on the coast of Ashkelon [1] [2], “The Spider" in Holon, “Ecolog Lenin" in Berlin, “The Dinosaurs” in Kiryat Ata, “Calm in the Arch” in Ganei Tikva, his most recent “Gan Gurim” sculpture ​​in Holon (2012), and more. A new project is also currently underway for the city of Stuttgart in Germany [3].

In 1987, the Israel Museum held Ben Arieh’s “Toy Sculptures” exhibition, displaying varied pieces from his Gaza stint. In 1997, the Israel Museum presented his "The Concept in the Material" exhibition for the second time, displaying Ben Arieh’s wide range of ideas in the field of urban sculpture. The year 2012 ushered his exhibition called "Song of the Crank" into the Gerstein Gallery in Tel Aviv. [4] This exhibition presented a series of mechanical toy sculptures made of tin and wood.