Now, I’m not here to shame anyone. I’m here to help.
Because the truth is — most of the time? Even the collector doesn’t know what it means. They just feel something. Or they like how it matches the new rug from Italy.
So if you're the type who wants to own contemporary Israeli art, but you're still not 100% sure what to do when someone says “the color tension is profound,” don’t worry.
I got you.
Step 1: Tilt Your Head and Say “Interesting Composition”
You don’t need to know what a composition is. It just sounds smart.
Say it like this:
“Mmm. Interesting composition. There’s a real push and pull here.”
Now everyone thinks you studied in Bezalel.
(Meanwhile, I studied classical singing in Uzbekistan. Close enough.)
Step 2: Touch Your Chin. This Is Very Important.
While viewing art, you must touch your chin at least once.
Extra points if you frown gently like you’re remembering your grandmother’s advice about life and boiled eggs.
Bonus line:
“I love the emotional restraint in this one. It’s very… intentional.”
(Translation: You don’t get it, but it feels expensive.)
Step 3: Talk About Movement. Always.
Even if the painting looks like a frozen potato. Say this:
“There’s so much movement here — it’s almost musical.”
(And me? I was a singer. True story. Then life, love, divorces, and a volcanic explosion of acrylic paint later — boom — painter.)
Movement is magic. Especially when it’s fake.
Step 4: When in Doubt, Say “I Feel It”
Abstract art — especially the kind I paint — is not made to be decoded like IKEA instructions. It’s emotion. Energy. Vibe.
Sometimes it’s rage in red.
Sometimes it’s loneliness in grey.
Sometimes it’s just because I spilled the turpentine and made it work.
So just say:
“I don’t know why, but I really feel this one.”
Boom. Art lover. Certified.
Real Talk from Me (the artist with 9 lives)
I come from a very clever Uzbek family — books, languages, piano at 4 years old. Of course I ran off to be a singer, then a jeweler, then a golfer, and now I’m here:
Covered in paint, welding metal, and painting feelings I don’t even have names for.
And the people who connect most with my work?
Not always the collectors with the biggest art vocabulary.
It’s the ones who stop, breathe, and feel something shift inside.
So maybe you don’t “understand” art. Who cares?
Art isn’t a test.
It’s a mirror. Or a punch. Or a hug, if you’re lucky.
And if you want something real?
My pieces are made for intelligent homes and people with sharp taste and messy souls.
They’re not meant to match your couch (though if they do — great).
They’re made to live with you, change with you, grow cracks and stories and feelings.
They’re emotional abstract paintings, and they’re not quiet.
You can explore them here on my website.
Or better — come see them in person to Happy Place Gallery.
Bring your chin-touching hand. I’ll bring the paint.
by Nikita Ben Ami, your painter/singer/Uzbeko-Israeli guide to high-brow confusion.
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