Meet Iddo Markus | Artist & independent curator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Iddo Markus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Iddo, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk taking is part of creation, it’s also about the unknown and it comes with great uncertainty and the struggle of being an artist and the path of doing what one loves and being professional and passionate about it. Risks are part of my daily operation – bungee jumping into the studio without knowing what the day will bring. The Risk of being honest, in all circumstances, the risk of stumbling and falling, are all part of my life and the adventure all creators take in their journey and path of showing what they see and feel with great love and curiosity.

As a multidisciplinary artist who moves between conceptual art to expressionism, risks are part of my Toolbox.  I feel that risks & limitations are the basis in a process of exploring new ideas or materials. Risk taking has always led me to new territories and beyond new boundaries – that’s the way I work and absorb life and most of my big understandings as a creator were high risks I took as part of being an extreme person who feels life is so Special, mysterious, fast & fragile.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a creative human being, I find life, in its complexity and fragility of flow and change, an experience that one has to let go of and be connected with what stimulates him the most. Since I was a child, art has been my first and prominent language and my best escape into another realm. In the past 12 years, I have been working mainly on dense and multi-layered installations, most of them in variable scales from miniature size to large formats. The frenzy Mediterranean environment I live in serves as a seismic factor in my intense work practice.  My uniqueness derives from a notion that brought me in recent years to create a body of works composed of thousands of fragments that evoke out of repetition of long term projects over years . Most of them are non- iconic, random choices as my clear understanding is that the ‘how’ is more important than the ‘what’: bringing the investigation of one image to the forefront, showing subject matter in endless variations in a hyper Rubik’s-Cube cycle. My works and projects attempt to delve deeper beyond the mere representation of an object to question the visual language. These works create a dialogue between the canonical and the ephemeral, between art history, photography and the endless deluge of imagery that defines contemporary digital culture with autobiographical elements.I had my share of struggle and points of losing hope but they were only a bump on the road. Now, looking back at my artistic journey, knowing that color is part of my life as blood is part of my body, I feel that the hardships I encountered were an important part of it.  I paint with great respect and love but also with a sense of humor as life and creation is something I do from the moment I open my eyes till I go to bed, knowing art is a game without limits and a place where mistakes can be beautiful and divine.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That’s easy, I live in Hadar district in Haifa city, Israel, my studio and other studios of artist friends are just around the corner, Artist from all Mediums are always open for a beer and a Chat . I live between the wadi Nisnas market who has the best fresh fruit and coffee makers like NAIMA coffee in the morning to the hype restaurant and book-shops in the Talpiot market, who become one the main location for creators from all Discipline, from old Pottery makers to Graffiti murals. in the market there are hidden gems like ‘goldmund book’ shop that has also live show and karaoke night and a place u can stop and just chill for a while.

The indie-rock scene has its own recording home across my street called the ‘dovecote’ (HASHOVACH) and it’s run by Yoni Cadan who is also a musician as well as a producer. In the night time the downtown area is where all the bars and restaurants of all kinds are available and there are places for live shows like The ‘Wunderbar’ and The ‘Kabareet’ for people who want to dance until the morning time.

We have our independent art-school ,our second home ,A project in the Market area called ‘HaNEviim art space’ and in it artist studios, art gallery, etching and silkscreen center and an open roof for live performance which has an amazing view of the port and sea.

Haifa is a port city, and it’s a working class city with its own style and mediterranean vibe. you can go to the beach almost all of the year and in a 10 min drive u can be on the top of the Carmel mountain, surrounded by endless trees and beautiful nature.

When a good friend come to visit, in the last day we take a walk from the top of the mountain in an endless staircase and finish in Beer fountain(Maayan-Habira)a restaurant who is one of the oldest family business in haifa, with traditional polish food and more than forty beer choices.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I get my first and foremost support right here at home from my wife, Livi kessel, who is also a photographer and documentarist, she’s my mentor and my critique, my savior from harm. I dedicate this shoutout to her. And to our two boys that keeps me busy and happy when I’m not in the studio.

Website: https://iddomarkus.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iddomarkus/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012076998732

Other: https://www.artforum.com/picks/iddo-markus-83180

Image Credits
Livi kessel Ilan Carmi Youval Hai