Text from his solo show at Dvir Gallery, Repêchage Bracket, 2016 'In Repêchage bracket, Barak Ravitz presents objects and a video in a self-contained group, separate units that still form...
Text from his solo show at Dvir Gallery, Repêchage Bracket, 2016 "In Repêchage bracket, Barak Ravitz presents objects and a video in a self-contained group, separate units that still form something of a broken sentence. As in his previous body of work, the starting point remains a collection of found objects assembled from various sources. This time they include a small rustic garden fence, a crow statue for keeping birds away, a 1940s Russian folk song from the repertoire of the Red Army Choir – also sang, in a Hebrew version, by the Gevatron Choir – as well as souvenirs from the Joan Miró Museum gift shop. If in the past Ravitz’s works manifested the attempt of doing the minimum that is necessary for allowing his objects to be put on display, in the present exhibition it seems that an attenuated tendency towards handicraft and hobbies has grown stronger, as apparent both in the choice of elements as in the manipulation they undergo – casting, needlepoint, and the sing-along. At times the objects are re-performed but with a shift in technique or material, their original handprint distanced and obscured to the point that they again become ready-mades, however containing the trace of a disturbance or an irregularity within them. The term “Repêchage bracket” is derived from the world of competitive sports, where it designates a situation where a contestant who lost in a previous round is given an additional chance to return to the competition, potentially even to compete for a medal. The works on show, it would seem, likewise convey this hope for a second chance, this sense of being raised, heroically, from a given position of inferiority. Trivial decorative items and simple crafts - meant to spice up everyday life and while away moments of silence, like the chanting group in the video, tightly shut in a car under pouring rain - now ask to occupy some space, to make a bit of noise."
- 'Repêchage Bracket', 2016, Dvir Gallery Tel Aviv - 'Placed someplace with intent', 2017, group show, Dvir Gallery Tel Aviv - 'Carmel', group show, 2021, Dvir Gallery Tel Aviv
