Yoel Gilinsky is an experienced artist, currently teaching at the Bezalel Academy of art. In 2012 Gilinsky moved to focus on images of Israeli nostalgia, reflecting warmth, innocence and a longing for childhood memories. His current works feature his childhood fascination with hand-painted commercial signs and old boxes: he returns to this graphic legacy, depicting objects from the 40’s and 50’s that have become symbolic of that naïve period of time. Returning to his own private history along with the national one, Gilinsky offers a colorful and nostalgic glimpse into the past.
Sources of my influence
I have always loved the graphic design of the middle of the last century, which was very descriptive, colourful and happy. When I was a child, in Jerusalem in the first decade of the State of Israel there was no computer or internet or even black and white television. There was very little and very modest. My mother and grandmother RIP were excellent cooks and much of what happened in the house surrounded the kitchen. As a child, I dreamed of worlds that were composed of few toys and lots of food boxes and cans. Manufacturers such as Assis, CeDe, Elite, Lieber and Ravel, fascinated me, as well as movie posters designed by artists, signs and calligraphy. There was something about the commercial graphics of the time that gave me creative space, combined with childish toys and Israeli artifacts, were captivating and full of compassion and joy. Like, for example, the whistling kettle, the Sypholux, the Primus and the rattle. But the most I loved and connected to were the designs of the wonderful Shamir brothers who were among the fathers and founders of graphic design in the country. They were groundbreaking and exemplary figures whose designs I connected to most, as did my family and many others. To this day, when I meets people in nostalgic fairs and there is a packaging, label or poster by of the Shamir brothers, the people immediately gather and compete with each other, who will win the treasure ... just like that! The designs of packages, which I often paint, make me happy every time anew and awaken me with longing for my magical childhood. There are many others who have affected me like Ze'ev Raban, Ephraim Moshe Lillian, Arthur Shick, the Dudaim and the Gevatron. This list is too short to contain them all. This was the golden age of our young state which grew from a dream and from a holocaust. Memories forever stand out and light my way. Through my paintings I return to my childhood in the tunnel of time.