The First Studio Scholarship invites graduates of academies and diploma programs in Israel to a year of internship at the Benyamini Center, offering a professional, human, and material adventure. The year provides an opportunity for specialization and an in-depth understanding of working with clay, technological research, studio management, and more. Exposure to exhibitions, the library, and the theoretical program, as well as encounters with Benyamini’s faculty and visiting artists in the residency program, enables profound learning of different modes of teaching and insight into the creative and conceptual processes of active artists in the field.
The past year was rich and fruitful, and this year’s winners became an integral part of the Benyamini team, contributing to the quality of teaching and daily life at the school and center. They taught, assisted in the mounting of exhibitions, and created a diverse and fascinating body of work. The exhibition marks the culmination of the First Studio scholarship year and signals the beginning of a new professional path.
Jasmin Wennersbusch – Whole Parts
This work explores the role of the shelf not as a passive means of display, but as an inseparable part of the artwork. Functional serving vessels, each thrown individually on the wheel, are stacked one above the other on display shelves. Between the vessels there are measured gaps, yet when viewed together, the eye assembles them into the image of a complete jar. Without the shelves, this image would not exist.
The treatment of the surfaces unites the vessels into a single whole through a shared color palette. Each vessel bears its own unique painting and glaze, emphasizing its individuality and identity. At the same time, certain pictorial elements, such as stripes, continue from one vessel to another, hinting at their connection. In this way, the color both connects and separates: it signals that the vessels belong to one ensemble, while also highlighting the gaps and the independence of each part.
The work moves between functionality and art. Each vessel retains its practical potential, but within the installation it ceases to function as a vessel and instead becomes part of a larger form with an entirely different purpose. The result is an artwork composed of functional objects that serve only to create an image.
The gaps between the vessels are no less important than the vessels themselves. They allow the viewer to complete the missing form and remind us that the whole we see is created not only from the parts but also from the spaces between them.
The work grew out of reflection on the place of contemporary ceramics between art and utility, and on the role of the shelf in transforming an everyday object into one that invites observation and thought.
Maaian Zang – Humanity
The work consists of figurines created through a variety of techniques, beginning on the wheel—figures with human contours. The wheel was used intuitively to shape the body of the sculpture, which was then worked by hand to form human limbs, disrupting the wheel’s circular movement.
The process navigates between intuition and rational planning—between flowing with the clay, its movement and the forms it suggests, and the deliberate decision about the final object. Which thighs, bellies, arms, and legs can the body give birth to from itself?
The inspiration for these figures arose from the external world: human interactions, engagement with the body, and ongoing observation of characters and details from everyday life.
Nurit Londner – Untitled
Two bodies of work are presented in the exhibition. The first was created under the influence of Japanese and English potters I fell in love with from the very first encounter. The vessels are wheel-thrown in soft, fluid movement. The surfaces are then cut vertically into straight planes, followed by shaping and inflating the body of the clay as it responds to the movements of the hand. The series includes a variety of functional vessels marked by simplicity and softness that invite touch and tactile exploration of their surfaces, enriched with decorations inspired by those potters.
The second body of work is made of porcelain, composed of simple white cylinders decorated with flowers, leaves, and fruits layered and branching out. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional ornamentation on the vessel’s surface resembles a monochrome photograph of nature. The colors may be imagined, or the vessel may be filled with vibrant plant life.
The small gallery
Exhibition of the First Studio Graduates for 2025: Maaian Zang, Nurit Londner, Jasmin Wennersbusch
Curator: Ravit lazer
Opening: Thursday, 11/9/25, 19:30
Gallery talk: Friday, 3/10/25, 11:30
Closing: Saturday, 25/10/25, 14:00
Journalism:
A Station in Time 2025: Maaian Zang: Humanity, MutualArt
