Kibbutz scenes

Michael Kovner grew up in Ein Hahoresh, a kibbutz (a cooperative community) in central Israel. The subject of the kibbutz is a recurring theme in his work. During the nineties he traveled to eight different kibbutzim all over the country to try and capture their essence. He used different techniques: pencil drawings, water colours, gouache, oil paints, wood cuts. His works on the subject comprise a very large body of work and a solo exhibition called ‘the kibbutz courtyard’ in one of Israel’s major musea followed in 2020.

Part of what he saw I tried to incorporate in this quilt: the fields, the houses, a ficus avenue, the boiler room, the guard’s house, the playground, a nursing home, the water tower, the greenery. The puzzle format is quite a surprising element in his work and he uses it quite often and to great effect. I found it fitting for this quilt.

Cotton fabrics, fusing, machine and hand stitching

Detail view:

Detail: agricultural equipment and the boiler house

Artist work:

Michael Kovner: fields puzzle

Michael Kovner: oil color puzzle