About
Who are we?
The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery has been active in its current residence since 1988, and in recent years has developed and became a significant part of the university's academic fabric. The Gallery presents innovative interdisciplinary projects that combine different fields of knowledge and engage with central issues in our society. As a non-commercial space, the University Gallery is free to offer a stage to contemporary, revolutionary and experimental art. The purpose of the Gallery is to present works of art that will challenge our existing ways of thinking and invite creators and researchers from different disciplines to rethink their practice through artistic discourse.
The temporary exhibitions on display in the Gallery combine works by leading artists in Israel and abroad that were created out of a meaningful dialogue with the research community of the university. In accordance with this approach, in recent years exhibitions such as Table Manners (2018) Defense Lines (2019), and Plan(e)t (2020) were on view in the Gallery. Each of these exhibitions included an extensive public program that offered tours, lectures, workshops, film screenings and theater performances, which correspond with the themes of the exhibition.
The University Gallery serves as a bridge between different forms of thought that take place side by side on the largest campus in Israel. It serves the students and staff, as well as the general public. The Gallery is also home to the university's Curatorial and Museum Studies Program, which aims to train future curators and provide the theoretical and practical infrastructure for working in museums, galleries and various cultural institutions. The projects on display in the Gallery examine contemporary questions from a historical and critical perspective, using practices of social engagement and collaborations with the local community. The public is welcome to visit the Gallery, free of charge. Follow us here.
The building:
The Genia Schreiber Art Gallery at Tel Aviv University is the largest university gallery in Israel, and a public, not-for-profit exhibition space. The gallery is located next to the main entrance to campus (Entin Square), adjacent to the Faculty of the Arts: the Mexico building, the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music, and the David Azrieli School of Architecture.
An architectural gem, the building expresses symbolism on the one hand, and abstracted restraint on the other. It was designed as a collaboration between two leading architectural offices in Israel: Dan Eytan & Eri Goshen, and Chyutin Architects. The building’s impressive western façade borders the university entrance square. This façade comprises two geometrically shaped masses - a box coated with square slabs, and a semi-cylindrical volume with smooth plaster cladding. The façade is mostly opaque, adorned with two pillars in a niche. The gallery’s entrance is located between these two masses, at the single place where it opens to the square, welcoming the visiting public.
At the southern side of the building, extending over terraces, is a sculpture garden. The garden is located between the gallery and the main access path to the university campus. The gallery's southern façade faces the garden with large windows, enabling controlled natural lighting. The windows form a continuum between the indoor gallery and the open garden, allowing passers-by a glimpse into what is happening inside the gallery.
The gallery’s building was designed in harmony with an existing slope, blending in with the surrounding topography. The gallery spreads over 1000 square meters on three levels, providing flexibility in display and spatial sub-divisions. The architects emphasize the interior spaces, allowing flow, both visual and physical, when passing through the galleries.
In 2004, a new wing was inaugurated next to the gallery, the Michel Kikoïne Foundation, donated by Ms. Claire Maratier-Kikoïne in memory of her father, the French-Jewish painter who was one of the top painters of the Paris School. This wing includes spacious galleries, an auditorium and seminar classes that serve the Faculty of Arts and the university community.
History:
The Tel Aviv University Art Gallery was founded in 1976 by the late Prof. Mordechai Omer, who directed it from its inception and until his death in June 2011. The first exhibitions were displayed in the lobby of the Faculty of Arts (Mexico Building), and in 1982, the exhibitions were presented in temporary exhibition halls in the Mexico Building. The current residence of the Gallery, named after Genia Schreiber, was donated by her son Boris Schreiber from France and the United States, and was inaugurated on December 5, 1988. The Gallery is located at the front of the university campus, near Gate 7, and forms the eastern side of Antin Square, facing Levanon St. corner of Einstein St.
On May 23, 1990, as part of the University's Board of Governors events, a sculpture garden named after Levi and Fortuna Eskenazi was inaugurated next to the Gallery, donated by their late daughter Giulia Eskenzi-Matatia from Italy, wife of Beniamino Matatia, chairman of the International Board of Governors of Art Projects at Tel-Aviv University at the time. The Sculpture Garden houses sculptures donated to the university by the Matatia family, such as "The Wings of Peace" by Carlo Zauli and the sculpture "Solar Stairs: Homage to Kepler" by Giò Pomodoro. As well as the sculpture "Avalanche" by Pierre Arman, donated by Reto a Marca from Switzerland, and additional sculptures lent to Tel-Aviv University after having participated in exhibitions in the Garden and the University Gallery.
A new wing was inaugurated in 2004, Michel Kikoïne Foundation, whose cornerstone was laid during the Board of Governors' meeting in 2001. The wing, in memory of the French-Jewish painter who was one of the top painters of the Paris School, was donated by the artist's daughter, Ms. Claire Maratier-Kikoïne, including forty of the distinguished artist's paintings. A selection of Kikoïne's paintings, along with information about the artist and the Paris School to which he belonged, is exhibited regularly in the Gallery. At the time, Ms. Maratier also presented an award intended for an Israeli artist in the field of painting, that was awarded to artists Maya Cohen Levy (2008), Yehuda Porbuchrai (2009), Ruth Dorit Yaakobi (2010) and Masha Zusman (2013).
