Iris Nesher brings her ceramic creations to Tel Aviv

Her ceramic tableware, under the brand name Domestica (Latin for home), is being sold at The Box, a store in the Tel Aviv port.

By HANNAH BROWN
SCULPTOR IRIS NESHER at her studio in Ramat HaSharon. (photo credit: COURTESY IRIS NESHER)
SCULPTOR IRIS NESHER at her studio in Ramat HaSharon.
(photo credit: COURTESY IRIS NESHER)
A sculptor and a photographer whose work has been shown around the world, Iris Nesher is now concentrating her energy on ceramics – specifically plates, platters and bowls.
“Each piece is hand-made, a one-of-a-kind art piece,” she said, speaking at her studio in Ramat HaSharon. “It has the same feel as a photo, with desaturated color...
The porcelain is a canvas.”
Her ceramics are black, white and gray, with an occasional touch of color, much like her art photographs in such exhibitions as “In the Dark Rooms,” which features black and white photographs of women writers that incorporate text. These photographs have been shown in several exhibits, most recently in Krakow, Poland.
“I love the look of black and white; I love it in photos, films and in ceramics.”
Nesher, who was born in Italy, is married to movie director Avi Nesher, and is the stills photographer on his films. Many of her beautiful on-set photos have graced the pages of this newspaper.
Not long before writer Yoram Kaniuk’s death, she collaborated with him on a project in which her photographs illuminated his words and life. The project was exhibited at the Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art in 2012 and the pictures and text were collected in a book, Entrance.
Although Nesher has worked in sculpture – there is a very arresting work by her in the center of her husband’s office – ceramics is different from everything she has done before.
“It’s a long process to learn how to do this,” she said.
She made dozens of plates before she created one she was satisfied with. It’s a labor-intensive process, in which each piece is heated in the kiln for at least 24 hours and then is glazed. But as Nesher talks about this demanding, intricate work, she makes it sound like fun.
For her, it’s the antidote to spending time on screens.
“It’s something you do with your whole body... It energizes you to use your whole body to make a piece of art,” she said.
She created her first set for her family and it has changed their dining experience. “Food looks more beautiful when you serve it on these,” she said.
She also likes the fact that she is creating objects that people will use in their homes. ”Ceramics is the oldest functional art,” she said.
Her ceramic tableware, under the brand name Domestica (Latin for home), is being sold at The Box, a store in the Tel Aviv port.