Noa

We have two works by Ohad Meromi in the SSE permanent collection: the  bronze sculpture Noa, 2024, and a 2-D collage, Untitled (Two Figures), 2024 - both in the north corridor on the ground floor.

Ohad Meromi works with a variety of materials, and integrates performance, video, collages, installations, and public engagement. Sculpture and space are continuously prevalent in his practice and in his art, movement and geometrical diagrams reoccur, often in relation to – and contrast with – the body. In his sculptures and public artworks, Meromi often uses soft materials such as polyethene where the idea is that the material itself offers a sense of movement and becoming sculpture rather than being (static, finished) sculpture. Noa, however, is made of bronze. It´s bent and shaped with soft forms, catching a figure mid-movement.  

Noa means “move” in Hebrew, but the name of this sculpture is also a homage to choreographer and textile artist Noa Eshkol, who long has been a source of inspiration to Ohad Meromi. Noa Eshkol studied geometric structures, numerical series, and the connection between form and system. Her choreography was minimalistic, scaling back from more theatrical performances and shows. Originally a trained pianist, Noa Eshkol believed that dance also needed a notation system (like music does) in order to develop complex combinations of movement. Thus she developed the Eshkol-Wachman Movement Notation system together with architect Avraham Wachman. The scores were to be performed in silence, only accompanied by a ticking metronome and neutral lighting.  

Ohad Meromi has described how he has returned to Eshkol’s dance notation system and iconography over the years. Looking at the sculpture Noa, what do you see? A dancer perhaps? A material manifestation of the notation system? Perhaps we can see both Meromi’s 2-D collages and Eshkol’s textile art peering though the forms and shapes of the sculpture. Perhaps we see something else altogether? 

Ohad Meromi (b. 1967, Kibbutz Mizra, Israel) is a visual artist and sculptor based in New York, USA. He graduated from Bezalel Academy of Art and went on to receive his MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts, and he has exhibited at multiple venues and events, including The Tel Aviv Museum of Art; The 2nd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art; The Lyon Biennial, France; Magasin 3, Stockholm; De Appel Museum, Amsterdam; and MoMa PS1, New York. 

The artwork is a donation by: Micael Bindefeld, Peter & Kellie Dahlberg, Nicklas Storåkers, Gabriel Urwitz and Jonas Weil 

Noa  
Ohad Meromi, 2024
Bronze 
74x44x28 cm