Born in Israel in 1980, lives and works in Tel Aviv
Carpet – Continuous Project, 2013, fabric and satin ribbon sewn onto wooden frame

Gili Avissar’s carpet subversively undermines the construction of the artist as a genius whose work is distinct from that of the craftsman. Yet by cutting and sewing the carpet in an unskilled manner, and making the kind of mistakes that would horrify any weaver, Avissar implicates himself and destroys the very notion of craft which he seemingly sets out to celebrate. The carpet thus negates its own status as an artisanal object. Its imperfect execution underscores its materiality while reendowing it with the very status it attempts to deny, and transforming it into the illustration of an idea.