Bezalel-Levy is the combined signature of Chaim
Bezalel and Yonnah Ben Levy. They collaborate on mixed media paintings
combining photography and media such as oils, oil pastels, or watercolors
on ricepaper or cotton rag paper. They also publish their work through
Bezalel-Levy Editions, which they established in Israel in 1990 and now
run from Stanwood House Gallery & Art Center, in Stanwood, Washington
Yonnah Ben Levy was raised in Seattle, Washington.
She attended Whitman College and received her B.A. in art from George Washington
University in Washington, D.C., where she studied at the Corcharan Gallery.
She received a Masters of Art for Teachers at the University of Washington.
She has been a professional artist since 1976. Her bronze sculptures and
paintings of wildlife and birds have been exhibited in galleries, and museums
such as the Museum of Native American Art in Spokane. In 1981 she moved
to Israel and worked for artists and craftsmen in various media including
illuminated parchments, ceramics, jewelry, woodcarving, and sculpture.
Since 1989, she has been collaborating with her husband, Chaim Bezalel,
on their own original work. She also continues pursuing her own sculpture
and ceramic work.. She taught art in the Israeli school system for ten
years. In 2002, Yonnah and Chaim opened Stanwood House Gallery and Art
Center in Stanwood, Washington. In addition to exhibiting there and elsewhere,
she runs a ceramics program. She is a member of the Washington State Potters
Association and has been published in Pottery Making Illustrated.
Chaim Bezalel was born in New York City and
grew up in Dobbs Ferry, NY. he received a B.S. in Radio, TV, and Film from
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. After graduating, he spent
several years working on his own photography, working at a variety of jobs,
some of them for photo essays (eg. an alfalfa harvest in Nebraska). Between
1977 and 1987, he gave up photography entirely and worked as a stockbroker.
In 1988 he moved to Israel, resumed his photography and established Bezalel
Publishing (now Bezalel-Levy Editions) which publishes his and his wife's
work in various media. Stanwood House Gallery can be seen at www.stanwoodhouse.com
and Bezalel-Levy Editions is linked from there.
One Man Shows
Yonnah Ben Levy
1979-1981 - Charlie Russell Show, Great Falls, Montana
1981 - Gallery Select, Seattle
1980- MONAC, Spokane - Artist in Residence
1982 - One person show - Dugit Gallery, Tel Aviv
1983 - One person show -Dugit Gallery
Bezalel-Levy
1989 - "Words and Pictures" - Beit Shmuel, Hebrew Union College, Jerusalem
1991 - "Urim and Thummim" – Khan Museum, Ashkelon, Israel
1996 - "Dying of Romanticism" - The Jerusalem Theater (during the Int'l
Film Festival)
1997 - "Dying of Romanticism"- Khan Museum, Ashkelon, Israel
1999- "East and West, Near and Far" (Still Life) - Evolution Gallery,
Issaquah, WA
1998 - 2001 - Travelling exhibit of originals and prints: "Architectural
Elements" (paintings from Israel). Cities included New York, Kansas City,
San Francisco, Portland, OR, Clearwater, FL, Vancouver BC., and Seattle.
2002-2003 - Stanwood House Gallery has presented nine exhibitions including
work by Bezalel-Levy as well as other artists
July 22-Oct. 8. 2005 "Pacific Scrolls" (25 paintings plus
ceramic ginger jars) at the Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay Oregon
2006 - "Return to the New World" Solovei Gallery, Everett, WA
Group Shows and International Fairs
Jerusalem Int'l Book Fair (bi-annually)1991-97
Jerusalem Judaica Fair (bi-annually)1992-98
1995 Frankfurt Book Fair
1997-2004 Artexpo NY
2000 "Icons" - East Shore Gallery, Bellevue, WA
2002-2004 - Stanwood House has presented twelve group shows since 2002
(see stanwoodhouse.com)
Awards
1999 – Art by the Bay, Camano Island, WA. First Prize for Mixed Media,
Bezalel-Levy
2004 – Art Port Townsend, Port Townsend, WA, People’s Choice Award,
Bezalel-Levy
2004 – Stanwood Camano Arts Guild Spring Show – First Prize for sculpture,
Yonnah Ben Levy
2005 – Stanwood Camano Arts Guild Spring Show – First Prize for sculpture,
Yonnah Ben Levy