Zadok Ben-David: From Here, There, and Everywhere

May 18, 2024 - June 22, 2024

Shoshana Wayne Gallery is pleased to present Zadok Ben-David: From Here, There, and Everywhere. This is the London and Portugal-based artist’s fourth exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition will be on view May 18th through June 22nd, 2024, with an opening reception on Saturday, May 18th from 4-6pm.

From Here, There, and Everywhere contains over seventy hand-cut aluminum sculptures from Ben-David’s ongoing series People I Saw But Never Met (2015-present), bringing together a heterogeneous cast of characters based on real people. Each work is inspired by a passerby the artist discreetly photographed while traveling, sketching their likeness before rendering the drawing in aluminum. The installation includes strangers from Europe, the United States, South America, Asia, Australia, and Antarctica in an attempt to chronicle the breadth of the human experience. A metaphor for the diversity of our world’s population, Ben-David’s sculptures materialize our shared humanity, allowing viewers to empathize with strangers from around the globe.

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People I Saw But Never Met has travelled the world and grown with each presentation, as the artist adds new figures for each exhibition. The work has been shown in Japan, Portugal, Siberia, Ecuador, Tel Aviv, Australia, and South Korea; and now includes over 8,000 sculptures. During the COVID-19 pandemic, People I Saw But Never Met took on a new meaning, becoming a powerful symbol for humanity’s isolation and communication and demonstrating that we are more alike than different. Work in From Here, There, and Everywhere encompasses the 9+ years of Ben-David’s series, placing early work in conversation with new sculptures.

Against the backdrop of environmental disasters, wars, and global crises that threaten humanity’s continued survival, Zadok Ben-David presents a message of optimism and hope. A lack of hierarchy between the sculptures gives dignity and respect towards every stranger whose likeness is captured, regardless of origin. Ben-David believes communication and empathy are the solution to many of the problems humanity faces, and the installation visualizes human beings as a collective, emphasizing that our similarities are greater than our differences.

Zadok Ben-David lives and works in London and Portugal. He has exhibited extensively throughout Europe and Asia including: Itchimbia Cultural Center, Ecuador; Kew Gardens, London; Centro de Arte Contemporanae Graca Morais, Bragança, Portugal; Kenpoku Art Festival, Irabaki Prefecture, Japan; The Art Gallery of Uzbekistan, Tashkent; Singapore Botanical Gardens; and The Tel Aviv Museum amongst many others.

Ben-David has participated in group exhibitions, biennials, and museum shows worldwide including recently at The Kröller-Müller Museum, Netherlands; Arts Maebashi, Japan; and Breda Photo Biennial, Netherlands (2020). Additionally, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Cerveira Internatonal Art Biennale Cerveira, Cerveira, Portugal (2022, 2020); Busan Biennial, South Korea (2010); Wonder Singapore Biennale, Singapore (2008); and the Venice Biennale, Italy (1988). His art can be found in the collections of museums and public sites across Europe, East Asia, Australia and America including: Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangzhou, China; the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; and The Kröller-Müller Museum, Netherlands; among others.