Andrea Meislin Gallery Opens Pavel Wolberg Exhibition, 5/4

Andrea Meislin Gallery has announced Pavel Wolberg's first exhibition at the gallery and in New York. The exhibition will open on May 4 and will be on view through June 15.

An objective yet empathetic observer, Wolberg intuitively photographs moments of wonder, spectacle, and solitude. He began his career in photojournalism, where his instinctual way of working allowed him to capture climactic and historic moments. Yet his photographs, which often depict various communities and their respective rituals in Israel, lean more towards the poetic than the political.

An avid museumgoer as a child growing up in Russia, he is inspired by great masters like Gericault and David, and his photographs often feel like paintings. Whether close to the action or revealing an expansive perspective, Wolberg maintains the position of a foreign observer and refrains from passing judgment or designating right or wrong. Renowned journalistic photographer Micha Bar-Am says of Wolberg, "He understands that life is sufficiently dramatic and theatrical and he has the proper combination of the laws of the chase and knowledge, in making a visual and artistic statement."

Whether capturing the revelry of Purim, men dancing in gay clubs in Tel Aviv, sacred moments of a Hasidic wedding, or conflict-laden landscapes, Wolberg handles all of his subjects with sensitivity and respect, always aware of his responsibility as a visual communicator.

About the Artist
Born in 1966 in Leningrad, Wolberg moved with his family to Israel when he was nine years old. Upon completing school he joined the Army, and then after working various odd jobs, he studied at the Camera Obscura School of Art in Tel Aviv. Wolberg later worked as a photographer in the news department of Ha'aretz, and with the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA). He is the recipient of the Gérard Lévy Prize for a Young Photographer, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem and the Constantiner Photography Award for an Israeli Artist, Tel Aviv Museum. His work was featured in the 2007 Venice Biennale, and is in the collections of the Israel Museum, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum (New York), the Kadist Foundation (San Francisco, Paris), and many notable private collections.