#instacouple

Niv Nissim @nivnissim_

Aviv Grinberg @avivgrinberg

5 years with My guy❤

Aviv Grinberg

In the Studio with Aviv Grinberg

The walls at Aviv Grinberg’s studio are white and pristine. Prior to moving in a few weeks ago, he, like many other young Tel Avivian professionals, was working from home. “I redesigned the space with my partner’s father,” he says, “and together we adjusted the former industrial workshop to my artistic needs.” The floor is filled with Grinberg’s colorful artworks as he assertively conducts the aesthetic chaos. He possesses a unique charisma and a managerial approach, both necessary yet uncommon for an artist nowadays. “I come from a family of entrepreneurs” he explains when I point out my observation, “It is part of my DNA; I have great aspirations regarding my art, knowing that I must work hard to promote myself.”

IS: So how did you end up becoming an artist, instead of a sharp businessman? AG: “My story starts at the Israeli army, where I served as a commander for three years, in charge of one hundred and twenty soldiers who did not belong in the system. The army prison was their stage, a place for them to show their most extreme behavior to make their way out, so you can imagine what an intense period it was.” His eyes reveal the weighty mark these years have left on his life and creative path. “Even the building’s architecture and historical values are still present in my work today” he admits. “After completing my military service, I traveled to India, started sketching random portraits in a notebook, and discovered my interest in studying some form of applied arts. Randomly or not, the only program I was accepted to was art studies in Shenkar, so I decided to go for it and brought along my portraits from the trip.”

IS: From the military prison through India to Shenkar; tell me about your experience there. AG: “I arrived at Shenkar with my sketches from India, with the intent of studying and manipulating them, so during the first couple of years I focused on large-scale surreal portraits, that embraced a realistic touch and embedded religious or social attributes. After completing my second year I created an exhibition in which, as visitors were surrounded by the portraits, they were expected to pragmatically interpret them, similarly to the prejudices that prevail in prison.”

IS: This sounds very ambitious for a second-year art student. How did the exhibition affect your following years at school? AG: “It was my Baptism of fire in the local art scene; an experience that revealed my production capabilities and left me with an urge to stop painting. I wanted to explore different aspects of creation, so for example, I co-founded a fair linking second-hand fashion to young artists, which allied me with the urban sphere. It was also an important turning point in my career.”