Ofer Grunwald – Artist Profile

 

LT.

My name is Ofer Grunwald (35), and I’m a bonsai practitioner working mainly in Israel and Europe. I have been doing bonsai for about a decade, but my professional training began in 2008, when I started studying under Italian master artisan Enrico Savini, and his Progetto Futuro bonsai school (http://www.progettofuturobonsai.it). Enrico and Progetto Futuro quickly became one of the dominant and most influential schools in Western bonsai. In recent years, Progetto Futuro have driven the revolution of modern bonsai in Europe, re-defining the art-form across the continent.

Since 2010, I have been working in close collaboration with the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens to promote and develop bonsai in Israel. To this end, in 2011, we established the Botanical Gardens Bonsai Award and Conference – an annual event serving as Israel’s national bonsai exhibition.

The event provides Israeli practitioners an opportunity to showcase their work to the public, while transforming public awareness and conceptions about the art. The event also seeks to raise the artistic level of Israeli bonsai, through lectures and demonstrations by leading international bonsai artists, who visit Israel specifically to take part in the exhibition.

In 2012, I was asked to curate the Jerusalem Botanical Gardens’ bonsai collection, re-invent it, and develop it into a modern, sculptural collection. In 2013, I was recognized as an official partner in Progetto Futuro’s management, an important milestone in my efforts to train and cultivate a new generation of practitioners by providing lessons and workshops to both complete beginners and those seeking to further their skills.

Today, alongside my ongoing bonsai work, I am constantly striving to push the limits of our medium, and to take bonsai to new artistic heights both locally, and internationally.

International Exhibitions:

  • Headline artist in Bonsai Europa – (http://bonsaieuropa.wordpress.com) one of the largest and most important exhibitions in Europe (England, 2015).
  • Assistant demonstrator to one of the world’s premier bonsai artists, at the most prestigious bonsai exhibition in Europe, the Noelanders’ Trophy (Belgium, 2013).
  • Demonstrator and exhibitor in Progetto Futuro’s annual exhibitions (Italy, 2009, 2010, 2012).
  • Styling and design for private collections in Europe, the US and Israel, with works exhibited in some of the top exhibitions and events around the world (2009-2015).

Exhibitions in Israel:

  • Israeli Landscapes – Exhibition of bonsai created from trees salvaged from development projects in Israel. First Station Gallery, Jerusalem (2015).
  • Botanical Gardens Bonsai Award and Conference – Establishing, producing and running Israel’s national bonsai exhibition, held annually in Jerusalem (2011-2015).
  • Demonstration and exhibition as part of the Japanese Embassy’s Japanese Culture Week, in Jerusalem (2014).
  • Demonstrations and exhibitions in various events across the country (2011-2015).

Lectures:

  • Ripples and Waves – On the Unexpected Outcomes of International Collaboration. Talk at the American Public Gardens Association annual conference’s International Session (USA, 2015).
  • Bonsai – From Ancient Tradition to Modern Art. Talk for an arts-focused NGO event (USA, 2015).
  • Talk at the 200Below arts and culture event (Israel, 2014).
  • Special guest speaker at the Japanese Embassy in Israel’s Friday lecture series (Israel, 2014).
  • Guest speaker at the prestigious Pecha Kucha cutting-edge arts event in Tel Aviv (Israel, 2012).

Publications:

  • Regular contributor to Bonsai Focus, the leading bonsai publication outside Japan.
  • Guest article in Bonsai, the leading bonsai publication in Eastern Europe.