The mahJ presents the first exhibition in France devoted to Israeli artist Noa Eshkol (Degania, 1924 – Holon, 2007). A pioneer of modern dance and a choreographer, she was also an extraordinary textile artist. The exhibition sheds light on her work from the 1950s to the 2000s, her Wall Carpets, and her choreographic compositions through drawings, photographs, and videos.
A dancer, choreographer, and artist, Noa Eshkol remains a central figure in modern dance in Israel. Known for her movement notation system, she founded the Chamber Dance Group in 1951. Her choreographies are dance sequences whose remarkable restraint is matched only by their complexity. During the final thirty years of her life, she complemented her dance practice with the creation of Wall Carpets: large textile compositions made “without rules,” “without theory,” with “only passion,” as she wrote. From one art form to another, from choreographic creation to the composition of Wall Carpets, from collective bodily expression to the singularity of an almost pictorial textile corpus, her work, which remained little known until recently, fascinates a new generation of artists. “Noa Eshkol, 1924-2007. Dance and Compositions” is the first exhibition in France devoted to the artist. It traces her entire life and body of work and also features installations by artists Yael Bartana and Sharon Lockhart. Born at kibboutz Degania Bet, founded in 1920, Noa Eshkol trained in Tel-Aviv at the school of German choreographer Tile Rössler, a representative of expressionist dance. From the end of the Second World War, she continued her training with Rudolf Laban in Manchester. But the notation system developed by the Hungarian theorist did not satisfy her, and she sought her own path. Returning to Israel in 1951, she founded her company. To the sound of a metronome, illuminated by neutral lighting, her dancers wore black costumes in a minimalist setting designed to highlight the precision of their movement sequences. For nearly twenty years, movement notation became her life’s purpose. She taught, participated in research groups, and composed. The Yom Kippur War in October 1973 marked a turning point. Declaring “No time to dance,” she gave up dance to create large textile works with her troupe, made from scraps and repurposed clothing sewn onto pieces of fabric using the appliqué technique. These compositions alternate between abstraction, still life, and landscape. This activity continued for nearly three decades and produced almost 1,800 works, making Noa Eshkol one of the most inventive and prolific textile artists of the twentieth century.
Admission: From 0 to 13 euros.
Source: paris.fr — photo: The Noa Eshkol Foundation for Movement Notation, Holon, Israel - graphic design Doc Levin - Léo Quetglas