The Debel Gallery operated in Jerusalem in the 1970's and 1980's when the city was a pilgrimage center for curators, journalists and art enthusiasts and even then it was exceptional in the Jerusalem landscape. Etienne and Ruth Debel opened the Gallery in the basement of their home in Ein Kerem

Ein Kerem

Ein Kerem , lit. “Spring of the Vineyard”, and - ‘Ein Kārem), is an ancient village of the Jerusalem District and now a neighbourhood in southwest of Jerusalem. According to Christian tradition, John the Baptist was born in Ein Kerem, leading to the establishment of many churches and monasteries....

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History

The Debel Gallery was opened in 1973. It represented well-known artists, and discovered new ones. In addition, the Gallery exhibited avant-garde artists, which was unusual for a private gallery; for example, in 1974 the Austrian artist Rudolf Schwarzkogler

Rudolf Schwarzkogler

Rudolf Schwarzkogler was an Austrian performance artist closely associated with the Viennese Actionism group that included artists Günter Brus, Otto Mühl, and Hermann Nitsch....

, and in 1976  the Gallery staged a performance of "Nidah" by Yocheved Winfeld. Among the artists exhibited were the Israeli artists Yair Garbuz

Yair Garbuz

Yair Garbuz is an Israeli artist. He was director of the art school at Beit Berl Teachers Training College for 12 years.-Biography:Yair Garbuz was born in Givatayim, Israel. In 1962-1967, while a member of Kibbutz Kfar HaHoresh, he studied painting under Raffi Lavie. He also attended the Avni...

, Raffi Lavie

Raffi Lavie

Raffi Lavie was an Israeli artist, art educator and music/art critic.-Biography:Lavi was born in Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine. He began teaching at the Midrasha Art Academy in 1966. In the same year he was also a founder of the group Ten Plus. Lavie's work is a cross between graffiti and abstract...

, Gabriel Cohen, Yocheved Winfeld, Maya Cohen-Levy, Daniela Passal; internationally famous artists such as Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder was an American sculptor and artist most famous for inventing mobile sculptures. In addition to mobile and stable sculpture, Alexander Calder also created paintings, lithographs, toys, tapestry, jewelry and household objects.-Childhood:Alexander "Sandy" Calder was born in Lawnton,...

, David Hockney

David Hockney

David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....

 and many others. At the same time, the Debel Gallery promoted a group of artists who were considered to be on the "fringe" of the avant-garde artists. They were identified with Bezalel

Bezalel

In Exodus 31:1-6, Bezalel |transcribed]] as Betzalel and most accurately as Beẓal'el), is the chief artisan of the Tabernacle. Elsewhere in the Bible the name occurs only in the genealogical lists of the Book of Chronicles, but according to cuneiform inscriptions a variant form of the same,...

 such as Zeev Raban, Meir Gur-Aryeh, and Samuel Levi; figurative artists such as Samuel Bock and Naftali Bezem

Naftali Bezem

Naftali Bezem is an Israeli painter, muralist, and sculptor.-Biography:Bezem who was born in Essen, Germany, in 1924. His early adolescence was spent under Nazi oppression, in constant fear for the safety of his parents, who perished in Auschwitz concentration camp...

. There was also a group of new immigrants from the U.S.S.R. who were also promoted by the Debel Gallery such as Naftali Rakozin, Alexander Okun, Valentin Shor, Naftali Bessin, and many others.

While curating different exhibitions, Ruth used to interview the exhibiting artists. She recorded their conversations and transcribed them. In a collaboration between Ruth Debel and Mamuta at the Daniela Passal Art and Media Center, selected interviews were bound together into a booklet named ‘Dialogue’.

The Debel Gallery Archive was given to the Israel Museum

Israel Museum

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

 in Jerusalem in January

January

January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day...

 2007. Today the Debel Gallery Archive is housed within the Information Center for Israeli Art

Information Center for Israeli Art

The Information Center for Israeli Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the Israeli Art in Israel. More than 12,000 artists files are housed in the Center in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem....

 at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. It includes background material, exhibition histories, photos of invitations from 1973-1990, recordings of interviews with artists, correspondence with artists, and much more.

External links

• http://www.english.imjnet.org.il/htmls/page_1617.aspx?c0=15059&bsp=14883The Information Center for Israeli Art
  Information Center for Israeli Art
  The Information Center for Israeli Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the Israeli Art in Israel. More than 12,000 artists files are housed in the Center in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem....
  
   at the Israel Museum
  Israel Museum
  The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
  
  ]