Looking Back on a Forward Thinker: Moshe Zabari Retrospective

Moshe Zabari (1935) is considered one of the most important Judaica artists of the twentieth century. His works can be found in museums around the world, in synagogues throughout the United States, and in private collections, but he is not particularly well known in Israel. The exhibition at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem was his first solo exhibition in Israel.

Zabari, who began his career as a student in the Department of Metalwork at the “New Bezalel” School during the mid-1950s, studied the modernist style. He created his Judaica as functional objects, without decoration, in smooth and flowing shapes. The modernist style left its mark on many silversmiths who graduated from Bezalel in those years, and many of the creations of today’s designers manifest the same “new tradition.”

Moshe Zabari, candlestick for searching for hame.z, 1985, silver, repoussé and cut, and feather, Israel Museum, Jerusalem B87.1057, 199/070.

Photograph: © The Israel Museum by Elie Posner

Following an invitation to participate in the Tobe Pascher Workshop of the Jewish Museum in New York, Zabari left Israel in the early 1960s, shortly after completing his studies at Bezalel. The many years in which he worked in that museum sent him off in a new direction, and he created a style that was completely different from the one that was being developed in Israel at the time. As Zabari explained in the catalogue to his exhibition at the Bible Lands Museum, he arrived in New York at an exciting period during which he was exposed to many new art styles. While taking part in the Tobe Pascher Workshop, working alongside Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert, one of the first and greatest creators of modern Judaica, he became familiar with the museum’s rich collection. Although influenced by various styles, Zabari nonetheless developed a unique voice, and since the mid-1960s has designed objects in his own distinctive complex sculptural mode.

That Zabari was ready and able to change direction over the course of sixty years, as is clearly reflected in the designs he produced under these influences, is at the core of the exhibition and catalogue. The exhibition is not arranged chronologically, which somewhat undermines the viewer’s orientation and understanding of Zabari’s artistic development. Rather, the narrative is organized thematically, according to the sources that influenced him, some of which are presented alongside Zabari’s own work. Through this diversity we can appreciate the excellent quality of the work and can as well discern the personality of the artist and follow his interests. It is interesting to discover how Zabari is able to combine his designs with styles inspired by sources diametrically opposed to one another. For example, Yemenite jewelry (he himself is from a Yemenite family) side by side with functional, modern styles that are devoid of decorative elements.

The Bible Lands Museum, which does not usually exhibit contemporary art, highlights the impact of archaeological finds on Zabari’s creations. His works reflect the influence of artifacts displayed in archaeological exhibitions he saw in the United States, some of which are now housed in the Bible Lands Museum. He was also inspired by some of the traditional ritual objects in the Jewish Museum in New York and created designs that combine a taste for ritual with a contemporary look. Thus, he was one of the first artists to create postmodern Judaica. Zabari has not only added innovations to existing styles; he has also created new Judaica, for example, a bowl for salt water and eggs for the Seder table and a candlestick to use in checking for leaven (hameẓ). These objects are easy to use, although they are not the products of a functional concept.

Alongside these useful objects are many of his sculptures that were inspired by issues arising...