Shay Frisch

Shay Frisch was born in Petach-Tikva, Israel, and lives and works in Rome. His artistic practice explores energy through works that rely on electrical current to generate electromagnetic fields permeating the surrounding space. Frisch constructs these fields by assembling common electrical adapters in series, electrical conductors harnessed within modular repetitions and turned into living, pulsating matter by electricity. The light in his works reveals the electrical charge within, attesting both to the underlying phenomenon and to the inner, burning, primordial nature of the surrounding field.

His monochromatic works feature geometric forms, mathematical proportions, and essential, often archaic archetypal signs. The relationship between the work and the exhibition space, as well as the use of form, is intended to enhance the evocative and contemplative power of the field.

Shay Frisch’s works have been exhibited in numerous museums and foundations in Italy and abroad. In 2013, the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome dedicated a major solo exhibition to his work, curated by Achille Bonito Oliva.

Frisch has participated in several major international exhibitions, including three editions of the Curitiba Biennial at the MON – Museu Oscar Niemeyer (2019, 2017, 2015) and the Venice Biennale (“Modus”, 2017). He first exhibited in the USA in 2012 at the Haunch of Venison Gallery in New York and, in 2018, presented an installation at the Royal Palace of Caserta.

His works are held in several public and private collections, including the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome.