Avner Sher is both an artist and architect who lives and works in Israel. He is interested in the region of the Middle East's history, archaeology, ancient scripts and languages. His works are rooted in the graffiti and the iconography of the Levant and fuses contemporary art aesthetic while addressing the status of men in the universe.
In his words:
"I have always been interested in the relationship between construction and deconstruction. In my early works I painted colorful compositions of oil on canvas, in the Cubist spirit. I later began to explore other creative methods and techniques and started to deconstruct the surface.
Working with cork boards, using a wood scorching pen, screwdrivers and hammers, I "hurt" the surface by scratching, tearing, engraving and burning. Then comes the great panacea: I splatter on it "healing agents" such as wine, iodine, laundry detergent and ink.
Closely surrounded by expressions of big narratives, my initial drive has always been a much simpler and childlike desire, the power to demolish and then rebuild. This basic desire came from a place where there are no rules, no library of knowledge, science or engineering: Just an authentic instinctual expression. The first stage in my creation process is done without thought, an intuitive process which embodies an attempt to let go and release control. Only then I feel the freedom to create from an internal intuitive desire. Only towards the completion of the work does my conscious message and point of view emerge.
The journey turns towards revealing the beauty beneath the superficial, and create a passionate anticipation for a better world: A suggestion of man's strength, belief and motivation to create wholeness and harmony on a personal, national and global level.
My works are the expression of hope in the face of chaos. My art contains many layers that are the outcome of my personal experience, my cultural background, both personal and collective history and the neighborhood where I reside."
Sher's works have been coined "Visual Esperanto" by Smadar Sheffi, a curator, art critic and researcher of contemporary art and culture.
His works have been exhibited in museums worldwide, and form part of private, museums and public collections, including: Tel Aviv Art Museum, Tel Aviv; Tower of David Museum, Jerusalem; Pan-European Art Biennale Manifesta12, Palermo; MBA Museum of Biblical Art, Dallas; Biennale Arte, Palazzo Bembo, Venice; Janco Dada Museum, Ein Hod, Israel;
and many others.