Shahar Afek(b. 1987 in Kiryat Tivon, Israel) lives and works in Shavei Tzion. Afek acquired his MFA at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Tel Aviv, and his BA in arts at Minshar School of Art, Tel Aviv.

Selected solo exhibitions: Terminan en el Mar, Minshar Art Gallery, Tel Aviv (2017); Parallel, Ramat-Gan Museum of Israeli Art (2016)

Selected group exhibitions: Limitless Limits, Larnaca Biennale (2021); Now Open, Petach Tikva Museum of Art (2021); ‘G – host’, Petach Tikva Museum of art (2019); Graduation Exhibition, MFA Bezalel (2019); ‘Factory #5’, Haifa Museum of Art (2019); ‘The Walls Have Ears’, Idris Gallery (2019); Where Plato Taught, Academiae Art Biennale, Bolzano, Italy (2018); Table Manners, Tel Aviv University Gallery (2018); Grey Material, Musrara mix#18, (2018); Escape Room, Nahum Gutman Museum of Art, Tel-Aviv (2017); Place no Place, Dana Art Gallery, Kibbutz Yad Mordechai (2017); Be more than a rock, P8 Gallery, Tel-Aviv (2016); Slalom, Binyamin Gallery, Tel-Aviv (2016); Show Room #3, Inga gallery, Tel Aviv (2016)

Selected awards and grants: Adam Award, Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Ramat Gan (2018); Animation Video award, Cinematheque, Tel Aviv (2013)

Shahar Afek’s practice revolves around questions such as how can one re-fabricate the past and how might a personal memory or experience be shared through smell, taste, or touch. Afek’s additional training as a chef is reflected in his treatment of materials in his art practice. He appropriates the processes used in the culinary industry to recreate memories or experiences by extracting unique scents and tastes, resulting in a live emotional presence in space.

Combining culinary and artistic practices, Afek caters to his spectators’ senses by turning the ephemeral sensual practices of cooking – which conclude when the dish is served and consumed – into the timeless experience of art. Using ingredients such as tropical extracts, Afek creates a conceptual menu – one that offers sensual experiences from remote, exotic locations, or a blend of “olfactory dishes” to be intimately inhaled, giving rise to complex biographical memories or emotions

Full CV (pdf) / Shahar Afek ; Shahar Afek website

Terminan en el Mar - exhibition text