Adi Nes ( he, עדי נס; born 1966) is an Israeli

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

Education

* 1989-1992 Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, photography

Life and career

Adi Nes was born in Kiryat Gat. His parents are Jewish immigrants from Iran. He is openly gay. Nes is notable for series "Soldiers", in which he mixes masculinity and homoerotic sexuality, depicting Israeli soldiers in a fragile way. In 2003 he did a feature for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' Hommes. Nes has given solo exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts,

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

in San Francisco, the

Tel Aviv Museum of Art Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון תל אביב לאמנות ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art from Israel and aroun ...

, the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego, and the Melkweg Gallery in Amsterdam, among others. His work has also shown in group exhibitions at the Hotel de Sully in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Haifa Museum of Art The Haifa Museum of Art ( he, מוזיאון חיפה לאמנות, ar, متحف حيفا للفنون), established in 1951, is located in a historic building built in the 1930s in Wadi Nisnas, downtown Haifa. Ranking as Israel's third largest a ...

and the Jewish Museum in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, among many others. He has been reviewed in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', and others. In 2005 Nes was chosen as an outstanding artist of the prestigious

Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation The Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation (IcExcellence) is a private cultural foundation which aims to identify, nurture, and support Israel's most outstanding artists. The foundation locates Israeli artists with potential for excellence in a wi ...

. Nes' most famous piece recalls

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

The Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art have been undertaken by artistic masters for centuries, ...

, replacing the characters with young male Israeli soldiers. A print sold at auction in

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

for $102,000 in 2005, and another for $264,000 in 2007. The work appeared on the front page of ''

'' in May, 2008. Nes' early work has been characterized as subverting the stereotype of the masculine Israeli man by using

homoeroticism Homoeroticism is sexual attraction between members of the same sex, either male–male or female–female. The concept differs from the concept of homosexuality: it refers specifically to the desire itself, which can be temporary, whereas "homose ...

and sleeping, vulnerable figures. He regularly uses dark-skinned Israeli models. The models' poses often evoke the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period. Nes has said that the inspiration for his photography is partially autobiographical: Nes lives and works in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. His work is currently sold through

Jack Shainman Gallery Jack Shainman Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in New York City. The gallery was founded by Jack Shainman and Claude Simard (19562014) in 1984 in Washington, D.C. The gallery has a focus on artists from Africa, East Asia, and North America. ...

in New York City and

Praz-Delavallade Praz-Delavallade is a contemporary art gallery in Paris, France and Los Angeles, USA. History Bruno Delavallade and René-Julien Praz opened Praz-Delavallade gallery in 1990 at its first location in La Bastille, Paris. In 1995 the gallery closed ...

in Paris and Los Angeles. In January 2007, he premiered a new series echoing Biblical stories.Schalit, Joel
Portrait of the Artist as Political Philosopher
Tikkun.org, July/August 2006.

Awards and prizes

* 1993 Ministry of Education Council for Prize for Completion of Work, Ministry of Culture and Education * 1993 Sandra Jacobs Scholarship for Documentary in London * 1999 The Minister of Education, Culture and Sport Prize, The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport * 2000 Nathan Gottesdiener Foundation, The Israeli Art Prize,

, Tel Aviv * 2003 The Constantiner Photographer Award for an Israeli Artist, Tel Aviv Museum of Art * 2005 The Fund for Excellence in Fine Arts

Gallery

File:Adi Ness, Untitled.jpg , Untitled, from series "Soldiers", 90 x 90 / 140 x 140 cm., 1995. File:Adi ness 002.jpg , Untitled, from series "Soldiers", 90 x 90 / 140 x 140 cm., 1996. File:Adi ness 001.jpg , Untitled, from series "Soldiers", 90 x 90 / 140 x 140 cm., 1998. File:Adi Ness, Last Supper.jpg , Untitled (The Last Supper), from series "Soldiers", 90 x 148 / 185 x 235, 1999. File:Adi Nes from Boys Series 003.jpg , Untitled, from series "Boys", 100 x 100 / 140 x 140 cm., 2000. File:Adi Nes from Boys Series 001.jpg , Untitled, from series "Boys", 100 x 100 / 140 x 140 cm., 2000. File:Adi Nes from Boys Series 004.jpg , Untitled (

Narcissus Narcissus may refer to: Biology * ''Narcissus'' (plant), a genus containing daffodils and others People * Narcissus (mythology), Greek mythological character * Narcissus (wrestler) (2nd century), assassin of the Roman emperor Commodus * Tiberiu ...

), from series "Boys", 100 x 100 / 140 x 140 cm., 2000. File:Adi Nes from Prisoners Series 001.jpg , Untitled, from series "Prisoners", 60 x 82 / 90 x 123 cm., 2003. File:Adi Nes 006.jpg , Untitled (

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...

and

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

), from series "Biblical Stories", 100 x 100 / 140 x 140 cm., 2004. File:Adi Nes 005.jpg , Untitled (

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

), from series "Biblical Stories", 100 x 100 / 140 x 140 cm., 2004.

References

General references

*Gal, Nissim1. 2010. "The Language of the Poor: Bible Stories as a Critical Narrative of the Present." Images: Journal of Jewish Art & Visual Culture 4, no. 1: 82-108. Art & Architecture Source, March 27, 2017.

External links

Adi Nes - Artist page
at the Sommer Contemporary Artbr>Gallery Website

Nes' Vogue Hommes (Prisoners) series

* ttp://adines.com/content/NesBrochure.pdf Monographfrom Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego
An Interview with Adi Nes by Jess T. Dugan, Big Red & Shiny
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nes, Adi Israeli photographers Gay photographers Israeli people of Iranian-Jewish descent Gay Jews Israeli gay artists Israeli LGBT photographers Living people 1966 births People from Kiryat Gat Israeli Mizrahi Jews 21st-century LGBT people