Elimelech’s cubes are approximately 3 inches square on each face, which makes them perfectly scaled to the human hand.
Los Angeles artist Moshé Elimelech makes cubist art — only not the kind you’re probably thinking of. Elimelech’s pieces are constructed of a series of cubes nested in a gridded container mounted on a wall. Each cube is rendered on all six sides with a variety of solid colors and bold geometric figures. The cubes can be removed from their cells and rotated to present any face to the viewer. By manipulating the choice of visible surfaces the artist or co-creator can generate a nearly infinite number of graphic compositions, either deliberately or by chance rotations.
Elimelech’s work reminds us how rare it is for artists to invite the viewer to actually touch the art they’ve made. We’re usually warned by signs or sternly faced museum guards not to do any such thing, which is understandable since most pieces are not constructed with that possibility in mind (not to mention the need to protect them against theft). On the other hand, that persistent distancing between us and the art makes our experience of it too uniformly passive for an interactive and energetic culture such as ours. It also reinforces the perception of the art object as something endowed with a sacred aura to be venerated, rather than as an agent of material beauty and sensuous delight to be enjoyed.
Exhibiting steadily since the 1980s, Elimelech shows primarily in California galleries, and has work represented in several museum design stores as well.
“Cubic Constructions” by Moshé Elimelech. Though they may look like independent and distinct works, the various compositions in each image derive from a single assortment of cubes. It’s often surprising how such a broad range of formal diversity can be generated from a finite set of modular components.
From the artist’s website:
“Expressing his fascination of the nature of duality, artist Moshé Elimelech has created a unique series of three-dimensional abstract cubic constructions that invite the viewer to reinterpret each piece. Putting into play his notion of opposing forces has yielded works that are fixed yet mutable, precise but free-flowing, analytical yet imaginative, singular in essence and at the same time open to reinterpretation.”
Videos showing the interactive process of Elimelech’s “Cubic Constructions”:
http://www.mosheart.com/movie/index.html
Artist’s website:
http://www.mosheart.com/
