Adi Nes

The Koffler Gallery presents the first Canadian survey of the stunning, bold and often controversial work of internationally acclaimed Israeli photographer Adi Nes.

His meticulously crafted images attest to the role of the artist in a country fraught with conflict and have entered the collective visual culture as well as major museum collections around the world. The exhibition includes Nes’ most prominent photographs from the Soldiers (1994-2000), Boys (2000) and Biblical Stories (2003-2006) series, including the iconic Untitled (The Last Supper) (1999).

Referencing art history and photojournalism, Nes’ interpretations of Biblical, mythological and literary subjects propose a critical view of the present while seeking to uncover a universal humanism. Conversely, his examinations of the military environment, tenement towns and the fringes of Israeli society take on mythical dimensions, enabling a philosophical inquiry of the narratives underlying national identity. Nes’ own experience of marginality informs his artistic vision and becomes the prism through which he addresses the realities of his homeland. His perspective generates a meaningful and subversive exploration of notions of masculinity as well as cultural and sexual identity within the contemporary Israeli and global contexts.

Adi Nes was born in Kiryat-Gat, Israel in 1966 and now works in Tel Aviv. He has had solo shows at the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco; the Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. His work is in many public collections including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Canada; The Jewish Museum, New York; the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem.