Avri Ohana
Landscapes Refigured

Avri Ohana was born in Casablanca, Morocco and immigrated to Israel at the age of 12, where he was raised and educated in a kibbutz. As a young man, Ohana was an early member of Ein Hod, Israel’s artist village, and it was there that he started to develop his artistic voice. His main influences during his formative years were the European Dadaist Marcel Janco, Dan Hoffner, the director of Bezalel Art School in Jerusalem, the optical and kinetic artist Yaakov Agam in Paris, and primarily –the painter Eric Brauer of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism. Ohana’s exhibitions include solo and group shows in Israel, Europe and the United States.

I am a multi style artist for whom the freedom to create in any given manner and subject is of essence. In seeking the mystery of the unknown I respond to inner impulses and ignore intellectual and rational considerations. I am aware of being caught in a magical cycle, a journey that repeats itself again and again. The delicate balance and nuance between color and color, shape and shape, form and color, layer and layer is my interest. What is important to me is not how a painting is defined or classified but if it is breathing and alive.