# Sunflowers of the Middle East

> exhibitions · Галерея Нога · Тель-Авив · 2026-09-04

Canonical: https://bonire.live/ru/event/sunflowers-of-the-middle-east-efac2c85-0776-4648-8a96-62849d5665a5
Generated: 2026-09-20T17:39:08.250Z

- When: 2026-09-04 – 2026-10-30 (Asia/Jerusalem)
- Venue: Галерея Нога, Тель-Авив
- Address: Ахад ха-Ам, 60
- Category: exhibitions
- Price: free
- Venue site: https://www.nogagallery.com/
- Artists: [Ido Michaeli](https://bonire.live/ru/artist/ido-michaeli)

## About

The exhibition presents a series of oil paintings paying homage to Van Gogh’s iconic Sunflowers, alongside landscape paintings influenced by elements drawn from Oriental carpets.

The exhibition explores the ways in which images travel between cultures and gather new meanings. Van Gogh’s Sunflowers are translated here into a visual language inspired by nomadic carpets and are re-celebrated through an ideal of beauty rooted in the Middle East. The syntax of one visual language is translated into that of another. Gaps in information emerge, as certain cultural codes may be accessible to some viewers while remaining blocked to others.

Throughout the history of Western art, European artists frequently depicted Oriental carpets in still-life paintings featuring flowers. Here, the direction of the gaze is reversed: a canonical image of Western art is being transferred through a Middle Eastern visual language. The translation from painting into carpet also seeks to challenge the distinction between painting as a form of representation and the carpet as decorative or traditional art. The images and motifs of the carpet are not only ornamental; they are also a way of looking at the world, remembering it, and representing it.

The exhibition also draws inspiration from Kurdish carpets, whose vivid colors and expressive qualities reminded me of Van Gogh’s paintings. Kurdish carpets are known for their artistic freedom, spontaneous color choices – including rich rust tones, indigo, and turquoise – and bold geometric designs.

Unlike urban carpets produced in large, organized weaving workshops, the weaving traditions of Kurdish nomads allowed for a different degree of freedom of expression. The movement of nomadic tribes between different regions also fostered an ongoing encounter between visual languages, motifs, and ideas from diverse sources, reflecting a sense of belonging to multiple cultures rather than to a single place.

The Middle East is an area of conflict, full of conflicts that seem impossible to settle. The exhibition is situated along this fracture line, moving through an unresolved tension between “here” and “there.” It serves as a wandering gaze – one that is not anchored in any single, defined cultural territory.

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