The initiative of former South African Olah Myron Zaidel, the collection entitled Prime Ministers in Perspective was created by one of the world’s leading pointillism artists, South African Gavin Rain. The display opening was held on Sunday evening, April 16, 2023. For the first time ahead of a two-week exhibition within the framework of the Jerusalem Biennale, in the central space of the historic Shaare Tzedek Hospital, from 24 April – 7 May. 

On Israel’s Independence Day, the gallery will host interactive art events for families, related entertainment, and speakers – all free of charge.

Rain’s portraits of Israel’s prime ministers, which are made up of multi-layered and multi-colored concentric circles on a white canvas, can only be appreciated when the viewer steps back. “Art is about creating a visual narrative” notes Rain, who combines his love of art and mathematics into his own neo-pointillist technique. “It is a metaphor for life – we should all step back to see the bigger picture, the people that help, guide, and shape us.”

While the artist was not able to attend the opening event due to a prior obligation, the sponsor of the exhibit Zaidel explained the collection, which he commissioned in 2019 in advance of his Aliyah, took a year to complete, as both artist and collector worked together to research the twelve prime ministers. Rain had only done women early in his early works, however, a piece commissioned by Chabad in South Africa of the Lubaticther Rebbe, captured Zaidel's attention and imagination.

 “My objective was to create something of value, that was unique and transportable, in the international language of art,” explained Zaidel. “As a Zionist, I wanted to take a period of Israel’s history, to focus on Israel’s first twelve prime ministers up to the end of 2020. The art form itself was appealing to me – you can look at the picture many ways and if you look at it the right way, you see the full picture.”

Rami Ozeri, founder and creative director of the Jerusalem Biennale explained: “As part of Israel’s 75th-anniversary celebrations and in times of dispute and polarization, we are honored to exhibit this exquisite series of portraits in the Biennale Gallery. 12 prime ministers, 12 superb characters, and 12 leaders of the State of Israel, each of them with their own unique identity. When taken together, they tell the collective story of a nation born. The pointillist technique, developed and used by the artist Gavin Rain, sheds new light on these important figures and expresses the relation between their complete image and the countless components that create it.”

Ozeri mentioned at the press briefing immediately prior to the opening that he regularly posts ads on Facebook for Jerusalem Biennale events. The ad for this event was rejected by Facebook as being political. Be assured this display is apolitical and should be of interest to anyone. Especially those who use their cell phone as a camera for pixel images should appreciate the work that went into creating these unique images.

All portraits are acrylic on canvas, one-meter square, except for Ben Gurion, which is 1.8m x 1.2 m to accommodate his iconic white hair. Each concentric circle on the white canvas is made up of five layers of color. Rain stated: “Part of my message for the work is in the close-up aesthetic. Stuff is interesting from a close-up. Our lives have a lot of texture. Then we step back and we see the influence on people and things in our lives. I like to try echoing that in my work if I can.”

Prime Ministers in Perspective.

Gavin Rain

Jerusalem Biennale Gallery, 161 Jaffa Road, Jerusalem

April 24 – May 7, from 10:00 – 16:00 (closed on Friday and Saturday).

Free entrance