TEL AVIV — Shlomit Gopher presented a solo exhibition titled 'This moment's planet' at Freshpaint Art Fair 2026 in Tel Aviv. The exhibition ran from June 24 to June 29, 2026.

Freshpaint Art Fair 2026, Israel's largest contemporary art and design fair, was held at the Kremenetski Technical Center. The center previously served as the operations hub for the Israel Electric Company. The fair featured over 60 exhibitions, showcasing works by emerging artists, local galleries, and independent designers.

Gopher, born in Jerusalem in 1987, was awarded the Makov Prize for a Promising Artist in 2025. She creates paper fibers from banana fibers through a process that includes grinding, soaking, dyeing, positioning, compressing, and drying. Gopher stated, "The resulting paper is highly dynamic, with a rich, tactile surface that invites close looking and even touch."

Her current exhibition integrates elements of sun, water, earth, and sky, without including the human body. Gopher said, "The materials themselves are often my greatest source of inspiration." She further explained that the works engage with perception: "The works engage with the way reality is perceived through mental processes and personal perspectives, and seek to draw attention to this condition."

Gopher described her artistic process as a way of observing the world and simultaneously observing one's own perception of it. She noted that these impressions settle into an inner space. Gopher stated, "All these impressions sink into an inner space, where experiences are allowed to settle, mix, and be reborn." She further explained that art can take various forms for different individuals, adding, "It can be a breath, a step, a color, a garment, a conversation, a glance, a state of mind, or a single word."

Speaking about her work, Gopher said, "There is something in my work that demands a certain level of intensity." She explained that if the color and texture do not achieve a specific presence, the work does not fully engage her. Gopher indicated that the scale, color intensity, and tactile quality of the paper create a distinct experience: "The scale of the work, the intensity of color, and the tactile quality of paper create an experience that is deeply physical and direct."

Gopher, who grew up in the moshav of Tal Shahar and is based in southern Tel Aviv, also stated, "I do not think my work is fundamentally different from that of other artists." She concluded, "My work is simply the form that search has taken for me."

Why It Matters

Freshpaint Art Fair represents Israel's largest platform for contemporary art and design, annually drawing attention to the country's artistic community. Tel Aviv, in cooperation with the municipality, hosts this event in a repurposed industrial space, the Kremenetski Technical Center. The inclusion of solo exhibitions by artists like Gopher, who received the Makov Prize for a Promising Artist in 2025, features emerging talent within the event.

Gopher's exhibition contributes to the fair's diverse offerings, which showcase a range of artists and designers as part of over 60 distinct presentations. Her use of unique materials and focus on abstract, sensory experiences provides an example of the contemporary artistic expressions featured at an event designed to support independent Israeli artists.