First Show, Contemporary Art from The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

In a landmark event, the Israel Museum brought to Tel Aviv, for the first time, a selection of new acquisitions of Israeli and international contemporary artworks, as part of Art TLV 2008, the city's first major international contemporary art event. Mani House, a historic building, was renovated by Bank Leumi and transformed into a visitors center and exhibition space. The artists represented, among them leading figures on today’s art scene, addressed such issues as the tension between nature and culture or reality and illusion, archetypal myths, and the individual and collective unconscious. They made use of a varied range of techniques and materials, at times entering into dialogues with different disciplines and artists. Responding to its unusual setting, the encounter of a plurality of approaches and mediums charged the century-old building with new spirit. The exhibition was curated by Amitai Mendelson, Curator of Israeli Art, and Talia Amar, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art.