אלגוריה וסמלים: יצירותיה של עמילי גלבמן כמסע פנימי 

Allegory and Symbols: The Works of Amili Gelbman as an Inner Journey
New Art Exhibition Magazine, November 2024

Rachel Ben-Menahem, Writer
"I step into the world of Amili Gelbman’s paintings and find myself walking down a new street, where every sensory experience blends together—smells, sounds, and sights. In her works, I sense a deep, overwhelming fear that invites me to connect with the artist's pain and memory. It is a dialogue between personal terror and collective consciousness, through which a complex reality emerges. As I observe her works, I begin to notice different structures: wide-open eyes, shades of red and black, gaunt figures with blurred faces. The imagery conveys feelings of imprisonment—not necessarily physical, but mental. The more I delve, the more I realize that the fear is not simple; it emerges from the contradictions of life, between the old and the new, the intimate and the alienated."

Amili Gelbman was born in 1963. Her father, a Holocaust survivor who endured the horrors of World War II, had a profound emotional influence on Gelbman as an artist. Like many second-generation survivors, she carries both personal pain and the collective memory of the Holocaust. Her mother, a great source of creative inspiration, instilled a love of classical art, literature, and music, which sparked Amili’s sensitivity and passion for the arts. Art served as a source of comfort in her childhood, and throughout her life, she has been dedicated to learning and expanding her artistic knowledge, making art a way of life.

Over the years, Amili honed her artistic skills and knowledge through self-teaching and informal training. She studied with artists such as Batya Elisha, Amram Sottler, and Harold Robbins, while also focusing on art therapy and anthroposophy. During her teenage years at the Wizo Art High School in Haifa, her curiosity for art and artistic exploration developed. Her practical experience in the arts, which she has never abandoned, along with her studies of art history and lectures by leading curators in Israel, have significantly contributed to her artistic development.

Amili has exhibited her works in international exhibitions and projects, as well as in artist residencies in various countries. She received support from the Israeli Embassy in several group exhibitions she organized, and held solo exhibitions in England, Finland, and Canada. Additionally, she participated in artist symposiums and exhibitions in Austria and the United States.

Through her work, one can see that she gravitates toward a stream that expresses a deep exploration of identity and vulnerability, much like narrative artists such as Francis Bacon, Egon Schiele, Frida Kahlo, and Nancy Spero. In her works, Amili focuses on the tension between abstract expressionism in the layers and process of creation, which progresses and creates a narrative of internal reality that responds to external experiences. Her life as an artist allows her to translate the dance of life and the human soul in real-time existence. Her artistic language is rooted in allegory and symbols, where each element in the work represents a deeper meaning, creating an intuitive and figurative narrative. These symbols establish a deep connection between her personal experiences and the context of her creation, shaping the artistic and emotional discourse she offers to the viewer.

“As an artist, I have fulfilled a dream as an analyst of spirit and soul.”
— Amili Gelbman

In the studio, she explains: “I work with the medium of painting intuitively, and the process is often dynamic and non-linear. The stains and shadows guide me, and I feel they direct me toward new paths. It’s like a dialogue—everything that is created affects the next decision. This intuitive response can lead to unexpected outcomes, and there are no 'shoulds' or 'should nots.' It is important for me to find the spiritual in the external chaos of absurdity."

Art is one of the most wonderful ways to capture the emotional and spiritual state of a period. It allows one to trace the motivations behind an artist’s creation through personal and contemporary interpretation. In 2024, as Israeli society remains fractured under the constant threat of rockets and the devastation of war, many artists identify with external events that have turned into trauma, redefined by the shifting notions of Israeli identity. Their works, as allegories of internal and external struggles, embody the eruption of emotions and experiences, inviting the viewer to consider broader contexts.

Nurit Tal-Tenna, independent art curator, researcher, and lecturer, author of The Great Bear, describes Amili Gelbman’s journey to Vienna (June 2023) as a process that blends physical and metaphysical dimensions. "Her work, imbued in material, is described as a spiritual journey in which 'the moon hovers above the mountain.' While drawing energy from the foreign city, Amili seeks to neutralize her previous knowledge and experience, simply to be—in a state of 'Being.' Entering a meditative state, the creative process is allowed to emerge on its own. The brushstrokes emerge from the void, and her intuition creates a transcendental space. Through abstraction, she sheds the layers of the object, delving into the depths of her spiritual experience, inviting the viewer to plunge into the abysses of light and darkness.”

In her creations, Amili builds layers of narratives between colors, shadows, symbols, and metaphors. She challenges the creative process with themes of pain and memory, exploring the tension between the personal and the collective. In this process, her intuitive connection with the material is vital, and her works invite the viewer to identify with themselves, searching for meaning in the complex reality of existence as a collective memory of society.