Izhar Patkin's 'The Messiah's glAss' Exhibition at Jewish Museum Addresses Israeli Politics Through Sculpture

Israeli-born artist Izhar Patkin presented his exhibition 'The Messiah's glAss' at the Jewish Museum in New York City from September 14 to November 11, 2012. The show featured a monumental twelve-foot high clear glass sculpture that took five years to create, incorporating a decapitated donkey's head with a crown of donkey ears and a tabletop with hooved legs. Patkin stated this work addresses the subjugation of secular Israel by orthodox Jewish fundamentalism, referencing the parable of secular Jews who founded Israel being later 'ridden' by religious Jews. The exhibition's centerpiece was the panoramic painted tulle work 'You Tell Us What to Do Act III,' which explores history, memory, and collective reinvention through haunting imagery. Patkin, who gained prominence in the 1970s with his 'Black Paintings' after moving to New York, had maintained a lower profile since the closure of his gallery Holly Solomon, though his work continues to be exhibited globally. The sculpture's design alludes to biblical references of the Messiah returning as a lowly ass, with elements reminiscent of a sativa leaf and the palanquin that transported the Ark of the Covenant. The exhibition opened during the week of September 11, with Patkin hoping its message of tolerance would resonate during the Jewish holiday season. In 2013, MASS MoCA planned to show the mid-career survey of Patkin's work that was then on view at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.