Tel Aviv
Stella Maris, a colossal, open-ended ship’s hull made of discarded, rusted iron components from an industrial turbine, stood at the entrance to a recent exhibition by veteran Israeli sculptor Yaacov Dorchin. A confrontational work in terms of size, bulk, and apparent symbolism, Stella Maris offers a clue to its meaning on the base, which incorporates an iron Star of David. Dorchin seems to be saying that this mighty vessel (Israel), buffeted by rough seas and high winds, faces a political calamity, about to sink to a salty demise. Alternatively, the star could represent governmental ballast, an ideology that keeps the vessel afloat and on course. Although Stella Maris challenges the viewer’s intellectual and emotional faculties, it also provides an exceptional aesthetic experience through the rhythmic ebb and flow of its curved cylinders and the warmth of its reddish-brown patina.…see the entire review in the print version of January/February’s Sculpture magazine.
