Overview

Naama Tsabar’s practice fuses elements from sculpture, music, performance, and architecture. Her interactive works expose hidden spaces and systems, reconceive gendered narratives, and shift the viewing experience to one of active participation.

 

Tsabar draws attention to the muted and unseen by propagating sound through space and sculptural form. Between sculpture and instrument, form and sound, Tsabar’s work lingers on the intimate, sensual and corporeal potentials within this transitional state. Collaborating with local communities of female identifying and gender non-conforming performers, Tsabar writes a new feminist and queer history of mastery.

 


 

Naama Tsabar (b. 1982, Israel; Lives and works in New York, NY) received her MFA from Columbia University in 2010. Solo exhibitions and performances of Tsabar have been presented at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York), The Bass Museum (Miami), Museum of Art and Design (New York), The High Line (New York), Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (Connecticut), Nasher Museum (Durham, NC), Kunsthaus Baselland (Switzerland), Palais De Tokyo (Paris), Prospect New Orleans, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, The Herziliya Museum for Contemporary Art in Israel, MARTE-C (El Salvador), CCA Tel Aviv (Israel), Faena Buenos Aires, Frieze Projects New York, Kasmin Gallery (New York), Paramo Gallery (Guadalajara), Dvir Gallery (Israel and Brussels), Spinello Projects (Miami), Shulamit Nazarian (Los Angeles). Selected group exhibitions featuring Tsabar’s work include The Andy Warhol Museum (New York), The Jewish Museum of Belgium, Moody Center for the Arts (Houston), Ballroom Marfa, Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Elevation 1049 Gstaad (Switzerland), TM Triennale, Hasselt Genk Belgium, ‘Greater New York’ 2010 at MoMA PS1, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens (Belgium), The Bucharest Biennale for Young Artists, Hessel Museum of Art at CCS Bard, Casino Luxembourg (Luxembourg), ExtraCity in Antwerp (Belgium).

 

Tsabar’s work has been featured in publications including Artforum, Art In America, ArtReview, ARTnews, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Frieze, Bomb Magazine, Art Asia Pacific, Wire, and Whitewall, among others. Tsabar is a two-time recipient of an Artis Grant, 2014 and 2010; a two-time recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation Grant, 2009 and 2005; the 2009-2010 recipient of the Joan Sovern Award from Columbia University; 2012 Grantee of The Rema Hort Mann Foundation Award; and held residency in 2012 at The Fountainhead Residency in Miami.

 

Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, A4 Arts Foundation, Centre Pompidou, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Seattle Art Museum, Pérez Art Museum Miami, The Bass Museum, Kadist Collection, Jimenez-Colón Collection, Tel Aviv Museum, Israel Museum, and Coleccion Dieresis.

 

Works
  • Naama Tsabar, Work on Felt (Variation 34) Sandstone, 2024
    Naama Tsabar
    Work on Felt (Variation 34) Sandstone, 2024
    Felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, archival PVA, guitar tuner, piano string, cable stops, aluminum, piezo microphone, guitar amplifier
    61 ¾ x 80 ¼ x 27 ¾ in
    156.8 x 203.5 x 70.2 cm
  • Naama Tsabar, Work on Felt Stringed Diptych (Variation 1) Sandstone and Copper, 2024
    Naama Tsabar
    Work on Felt Stringed Diptych (Variation 1) Sandstone and Copper, 2024
    Felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, archival PVA, guitar tuner, piano string, cable stops, aluminum, piezo microphone, guitar amplifier
    Each panel:
    80 ¼ x 35 ¼ x 23 ½ in
    203.8 x 89.5 x 59.7 cm
  • Naama Tsabar, Work on Felt (Variation 25) Purple — Rendering Only, To Be Produced, 2022
    Naama Tsabar
    Work on Felt (Variation 25) Purple — Rendering Only, To Be Produced, 2022
    Carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, felt, microphone, guitar amplifier
    77 x 59 5/8 x 23 1/2 in
    195.6 x 151.4 x 59.7 cm
  • Naama Tsabar, Work on Felt (Variation 9 & 10) Black and Black (Dyptich), 2016
    Naama Tsabar
    Work on Felt (Variation 9 & 10) Black and Black (Dyptich), 2016
    Industrial felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, guitar tuner, piano string, amplifiers
    71.5 x 55.5 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Work on Felt (Variation 24) Dark Blue, 2019
    Naama Tsabar
    Work on Felt (Variation 24) Dark Blue, 2019
    Felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, archival PVA, bass guitar tuner, piano string, piezo microphone, guitar amplifier
    71 3/4 x 56 1/2 x 25 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Work on Felt (Variation 9) Bordeaux, 2016
    Naama Tsabar
    Work on Felt (Variation 9) Bordeaux, 2016
    Industrial felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, guitar tuner, piano string, amplifiers
    71.5 x 55.5 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Twilight (Gaffer Wall), 2006-ongoing
    Naama Tsabar
    Twilight (Gaffer Wall), 2006-ongoing
    Gaffer tape
    Wall-specific installation
    Edition of 3 plus 1 artist's proof
  • Naama Tsabar, Continuity in Two #11, 2024
    Naama Tsabar
    Continuity in Two #11, 2024
    Bow, horse hair, hardware
    24 x 35 x 2 in
    61 x 88.9 x 5.1 cm
  • Naama Tsabar, Continuity in Two #9, 2024
    Naama Tsabar
    Continuity in Two #9, 2024
    Bow, horse hair, hardware
    17 ½ x 43 ¼ x 2 in
    44.5 x 109.5 x 5.1 cm
  • Naama Tsabar, Continuity in Two #10, 2024
    Naama Tsabar
    Continuity in Two #10, 2024
    Bow, horse hair, hardware
    28 x 7 x 2 ½ in
    71.1 x 17.8 x 6.3 cm
  • Naama Tsabar, Untitled (Beam and Curtain), 2024
    Naama Tsabar
    Untitled (Beam and Curtain), 2024
    Gaffer tape, aluminum, CA glue, archival PVA glue
    71 ½ x 40 ½ x ½ in
    181.6 x 102.9 x 1.3 cm
  • Naama Tsabar, Suspension (Arches #1), 2023
    Naama Tsabar
    Suspension (Arches #1), 2023
    Gaffer tape, audio cable and connectors, aluminum, CA glue, archival PVA glue.
    Gaffering: Patrick Busby, Naama Tsabar.
    With cable drops: 48 x 33 1/4 x 3/4 in (not including length of cable)
    Panel only: 48 x 33 3/16 x 5/8 in
  • Naama Tsabar, Melody of Certain Damage #22, 2022
    Naama Tsabar
    Melody of Certain Damage #22, 2022
    Broken electric guitar, strings, microphone, screws and amplifier
    59 x 59 x 1 1/2 in (with plinth)
    149.9 x 149.9 x 3.8 cm (with plinth)
  • Naama Tsabar, Melody of Certain Damage #13, 2021
    Naama Tsabar
    Melody of Certain Damage #13, 2021
    Broken electric guitar, strings, microphone, screws and amplifier
    70 x 42 x 3 in
  • Naama Tsabar, Doublesilverburst, 2010
    Naama Tsabar
    Doublesilverburst, 2010
    Mixed media with two guitars
    14 x 71 x 144 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Inversion #5, 2021
    Naama Tsabar
    Inversion #5, 2021
    Voice of Wolf Weston, sound of BroodX cicadas, wood, varnish, paint, infra- red sensors, Arduino, WAV trigger, wires, cable port, cables, purfling
    Coding: Brian Oakes
    96 x 48 x 15.75 in
  • Naama Tsabar, Inversion, 2020
    Naama Tsabar
    Inversion, 2020
    Wood, strings, polyurethane and latex paint, banjo tuners, metal contact microphones, wiring, cable port
    66 x 35 x 4.75 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Inversion #2, 2020
    Naama Tsabar
    Inversion #2, 2020
    Wood, microphone, metal, plastic, polyurethane and latex paint, cable port, mixer
    Exterior: 14 x 15.5 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Transition, 2019
    Naama Tsabar
    Transition, 2019
    Wood, amp grill cloth, cables, disassembled Boss Katana 100 guitar amplifier: knobs, wires, circuit board, ports, speaker
    63 x 40 5/8 x 6 1/2 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Transition, 2019
    Naama Tsabar
    Transition, 2019
    Wood, amp grill cloth, cables, disassembled Fender rumble 100 guitar amplifier, knobs, wires, circuit board, ports, speaker
    51 x 38 1/2 x 7 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Transition, 2016
    Naama Tsabar
    Transition, 2016
    Wood, canvas, electronics, cables, knobs, amplifier tubes, speakers
    56 × 40 × 6.5 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Untitled #3 (From the Double Face Museum Series), 2016
    Naama Tsabar
    Untitled #3 (From the Double Face Museum Series), 2016
    Dye sublimation print, chrome frame, and chrome guitar
    39.4 x 12 x 13 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Barricade #3, 2016
    Naama Tsabar
    Barricade #3, 2016
    12 microphones and microphone stands and matching audio equipment
    62 × 98 × 98 inches
  • Naama Tsabar, Barricade #2, 2016
    Naama Tsabar
    Barricade #2, 2016
    12 microphone and microphone stands and matching audio equipment (mixer, EQ etc.)
    Variable dimensions
Installation shots
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