Naama Tsabar b. 1982
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.
Opening in October 2023, Tsabar will be featured in a solo exhibition at Berlin’s Hamburger Banhof National Gallery of Contemporary Art.
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Naama TsabarMelody of Certain Damage #22, 2022Broken electric guitar, strings, microphone, screws and amplifier59 x 59 x 1 1/2 in (with plinth)
149.9 x 149.9 x 3.8 cm (with plinth) -
Naama TsabarInversion #5, 2021Voice of Wolf Weston, sound of BroodX cicadas, wood, varnish, paint, infra- red sensors, Arduino, WAV trigger, wires, cable port, cables, purfling
Coding: Brian Oakes96 x 48 x 15.75 in -
Naama TsabarMelody of Certain Damage #13, 2021Broken electric guitar, strings, microphone, screws and amplifier
70 x 42 x 3 in -
Naama TsabarInversion, 2020Wood, strings, polyurethane and latex paint, banjo tuners, metal contact microphones, wiring, cable port66 x 35 x 4.75 inches
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Naama TsabarWork On Felt (Variation 18) Burgundy, 2017Industrial felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, guitar tuner, piano string, amplifiers81 x 62.5 x 29.5 inches
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Naama TsabarWork on Felt (Variation 9 & 10) Black and Black (Dyptich), 2016Industrial felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, guitar tuner, piano string, amplifiers71.5 x 55.5 inches
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Naama TsabarWork on Felt (Variation 22) Purple, 2019Felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, archival PVA, bass guitar tuner, piano string, piezo microphone, guitar amplifier73 x 65 x 30 inches
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Naama TsabarTransition, 2019Wood, amp grill cloth, cables, disassembled Boss Katana 100 guitar amplifier: knobs, wires, circuit board, ports, speaker63 x 40 5/8 x 6 1/2 inches
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Naama TsabarTransition, 2019Wood, amp grill cloth, cables, disassembled Fender rumble 100 guitar amplifier, knobs, wires, circuit board, ports, speaker51 x 38 1/2 x 7 inches
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Naama TsabarTransition, 2016Wood, canvas, electronics, cables, knobs, amplifier tubes, speakers56 × 40 × 6.5 inches
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Naama TsabarDoublesilverburst, 2010Mixed media with two guitars14 x 71 x 144 inches
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Naama TsabarInversion #2, 2020Wood, microphone, metal, plastic, polyurethane and latex paint, cable port, mixerExterior: 14 x 15.5 inches
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Naama TsabarUntitled #3 (From the Double Face Museum Series), 2016Dye sublimation print, chrome frame, and chrome guitar39.4 x 12 x 13 inches
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Naama TsabarWork on Felt (Variation 7) Black, 2015Felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, guitar tuning peg, piano string, piezo, amplifier34.5 x 97.5 x 40.5 inches
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Naama TsabarWork on Felt (Variation 24) Dark Blue, 2019Felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, archival PVA, bass guitar tuner, piano string, piezo microphone, guitar amplifier71 3/4 x 56 1/2 x 25 inches
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Naama TsabarWork on Felt (Variation 9) Bordeaux, 2016Industrial felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, guitar tuner, piano string, amplifiers71.5 x 55.5 inches
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Naama TsabarBarricade #3, 201612 microphones and microphone stands and matching audio equipment62 × 98 × 98 inches
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Naama TsabarWork on Felt (Variation 4) Gray, 2016Industrial felt, carbon fiber, epoxy, wood, guitar tuner, piano string, amplifiers65.5 × 50.5 × 13.5 inches
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Naama TsabarBarricade #2, 201612 microphone and microphone stands and matching audio equipment (mixer, EQ etc.)Variable dimensions
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Naama Tsabar. Perimeters, The Bass Museum, Miami 2021 - 2022
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Naama Tsabar. Perimeters, The Bass Museum, Miami 2021 - 2022
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Naama Tsabar. Perimeters, The Bass Museum, Miami 2021 - 2022
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Naama Tsabar at Art Basel: Miami Beach, Shulamit Nazarian, November 30 – December 4, 2021
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Naama Tsabar at Art Basel: Miami Beach, Shulamit Nazarian, November 30 – December 4, 2021
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Naama Tsabar at Art Basel: Miami Beach, Shulamit Nazarian, November 30 – December 4, 2021
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Naama Tsabar
Breaks and Suspensions 15 Feb - 25 Mar 2023Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to announce Breaks and Suspensions, an exhibition by Israeli-born, New York- based artist Naama Tsabar. This exhibition marks the artist’s second solo show with the gallery, on view from February 15 through March 25, 2023. The exhibition title, Breaks and Suspensions, references colloquial terms for two...Read more -
10 Years
9 Jul - 27 Aug 2022Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles is pleased to present 10 YEARS, a special group exhibition celebrating this milestone anniversary for the gallery. To mark the anniversary, founder Shula Nazarian and co-owner Seth Curcio have selected works by more than twenty artists from the gallery’s program. The exhibition will be on view...Read more -
Naama Tsabar
Inversions 10 Jan - 29 Feb 2020Naama Tsabar has become known for her ambitious installations, performances, and sculptures that parse the boundaries of spaces that surround us—both physical and metaphorical—for which we normally have no access. Cutting into walls and treating hidden interiors as sculptural and musical spaces, Tsabar considers the venues themselves as structures of power, enabling a display of fantasy, sexuality, and bravado. Tsabar upends the implicit gender roles and coded behavior of music and its related subcultures.Read more -
Escape Attempts
17 Feb - 8 Apr 2017Inaugurating its new Hollywood location, Shulamit Nazarian presents Escape Attempts, a group exhibition of seven international artists working in dialogue with the legacy of minimal art. Carmen Argote, Susan Hefuna, Cindy Hinant, Alex McQuilkin, Sarah Meyohas, Virginia Overton, and Naama Tsabar present work that both acknowledges and subverts the practice of their predominately male forebears including Sol Lewitt, Donald Judd, and Larry Bell.Read more
The artists in Escape Attempts employ the formal elements associated with Minimalism. Reduced color palettes and the repetition of simple geometric forms, as well as industrial materials that have a symbiotic relationship to architecture, create new mash-ups that mix formal rigor with sensuality, subjectivity, personal narrative, and contemporary sexual politics.
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The Armory Show
Coady Brown, Michael Stamm. Naama Tsabar 8 - 11 Sep 2022Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to present new works by Philadelphia-based Coady Brown, New York-based Michael Stamm, and New York-based Naama Tsabar for The Armory Show...Read more -
Art Basel: Miami Beach
Naama Tsabar 30 Nov - 4 Dec 2021PREVIEW THE EXHIBITION HERE For Art Basel Miami Beach 2021, Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to present works by New York-based artist Naama Tsabar. Naama...Read more -
Art Basel OVR: Miami Beach
Bridget Mullen, Naama Tsabar, and Wendy White 29 Nov - 5 Dec 2021For Art Basel Miami Beach Online, Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to present new works by New York-based artists Bridget Mullen, Naama Tsabar, and Wendy White....Read more -
Art Basel OVR: Miami Beach
Annie Lapin, Naudline Pierre, and Naama Tsabar 2 - 6 Dec 2020For Art Basel Miami Beach 2020, Shulamit Nazarian is pleased to present new works by Los Angeles based artist, Annie Lapin and New York based...Read more -
Frieze Projects Los Angeles
Naama Tsabar 13 - 15 Feb 2020In conjunction with Frieze Los Angeles, Naama Tsabar will be performing Untitled (Double Face) with Kristin Mueller on the backlot of Paramount Studios as part...Read more -
Seattle Art Fair
Theodore Boyer, Phillip Maisel, Fay Ray, and Naama Tsabar 3 - 6 Aug 2017For Seattle Art Fair 2017, Shulamit Nazarian will present new works by California-based artists Theodore Boyer, Fay Ray, and Phillip Maisel. Utilizing painting, photography, and...Read more
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Performance: Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6)
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art February 9, 2023Performances on Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 6) at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 2022. This performance never took place in front of a live audience. CREDITS COMPOSED IN COLLABORATION WITH Christie Echols Jillian e Emerson Maya Perry Sarah Strauss MorganEve Swain Naama Tsabar SOUND TECHNICIAN Nancy Conforti VIDEO RJ LaRussaRead more -
Performance: Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 5)
KinoSaito Arts Center, New York August 26, 2022Performances on Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 5) at KinoSaito Arts Center, New York, 2022 Credits Composed and performed in collaboration with Rose Blanshei Larkin Grimm Maya Perry Sarah Strauss Naama Tsabar Sound Technician Katie Lau Video Alex MallisRead more -
Performance: Naama Tsabar Perimeters
The Bass Museum December 4, 2021 -
Naama Tsabar "Untitled (Double Face)"
Performed at Frieze Los Angeles 2020 February 20, 2020This is an excerpt of Naama Tsabar’s performance “Untitled (Double Face) at the art fair Frieze Los Angeles 2020. “Drawing from her overlapping interests in sonic performance and the hybrid nature of musical instruments—as sculptural objects and conduits of sound—Naama Tsabar (b. 1982, Tel Aviv; lives in New York) tests the limits of audio in art spaces typically more welcoming to the visual. In her gallery-based works, Tsabar invites spectators to pluck and strum her hanging felt pieces and sculptures. She has also constructed percussive or amplified works that are...Read more -
Naama Tsabar "Inversions"
Performed at Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles February 11, 2020On February 11 and 12, Naama Tsabar, along with Nicki Chen-Walters, Diana Diaz, FIELDED, Kristin Mueller, and Sarah Strauss performed on the sculptures in Inversions, in which every work in the show was activated simultaneously.Read more -
Naama Tsabar "Works on Felt"
performed at Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles 2017 February 20, 2017 -
Naama Tsabar "Closer"
performed at Shulamit Nazarian, Los Angeles 2017 February 19, 2017
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Naama Tsabar featured at the Seattle Art Museum: Reverberations: Contemporary Art and Modern Classics
December 22, 2022 – Ongoing February 9, 2023REVERBERATIONS: CONTEMPORARY ART AND MODERN CLASSICS DEC 22 2022 – ONGOING SEATTLE ART MUSEUM THIRD FLOOR GALLERIES PLAN YOUR VISIT HERE » Each new generation...Read more -
Naama Tsabar Forthcoming Solo Exhibition at Hamburger Bahnhof — Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart
October 6, 2023 – March 10, 2024 January 20, 2023HAMBURGER BAHNHOF—NATIONALGALERIE DER GEGENWART INVALIDENSTRASSE 50-51, 10557 BERLIN, GERMANY On View October 6, 2023 – March 10, 2024 PLAN YOUR VISIT HERE » This October,...Read more -
Naama Tsabar featured in "Material Imagination" at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art
New Permanent Collection Display September 30, 2022Material Imagination: Israeli Art from the Museum’s Collection CURATED BY Dalit Matatyahu New Permanent Collection display Tel Aviv MUSEUM OF ART 27 Shaul HaMelech...Read more -
Naama Tsabar featured in "Monochrome Multitudes" at the Smart Museum
Sep 22, 2022 – Jan 8, 2023 September 22, 2022Monochrome Multitudes: ISRAELI ART FROM THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION Smart Museum of Art The University of Chicago 5550 S. Greenwood Ave. Chicago, Illinois 60637 PLAN YOUR...Read more -
Naama Tsabar featured at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
June 3 – September 11, 2022 June 3, 2022Naama Tsabar / Matrix 189 MELODIES OF CERTAIN DAMAGE (OPUS 6) ON VIEW JUNE 3 - SEPTEMBER 11, 2022 Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford,...Read more -
Naama Tsabar Recent Museum Acquisition
Seattle Art Museum October 11, 2021Congratulations to Naama Tsabar on her recent museum acquisitIon at the SEATTLE ART MUSEUM SEATTLE – The Seattle Art Museum (SAM) has made the inaugural...Read more -
Naama Tsabar featured in Jewish Museum of Belgium: Ellis Island
June 25 – August 29, 2021 July 13, 2021ON VIEW JUNE 25 - AUGUST 29, 2021 Book tickets and plan your visit HERE » The Jewish Museum of Belgium presents Ellis Island...Read more -
Naama Tsabar featured in The Musical Brain at The High Line, New York
April 2021 – March 2022 April 1, 2021Naama Tsabar is featured in The Musical Brain, a group exhibition on The High Line that celebrates the power music has to bring us...Read more -
Naama Tsabar: Recent Museum Acquisitions
Los Angeles County Museum of Art | Pérez Art Museum Miami | San Francisco Museum of Modern Art July 17, 2020Congratulations to Naama Tsabar on her recent museum acquisitions Los Angeles County Museum of Art Pérez Art Museum Miami San Francisco Museum of Modern Art...Read more -
Naama Tsabar: Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 3)
December 22, 2018Congratulations to Naama Tsabar on her solo exhibition Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 3) Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv December 22, 2018 – February...Read more -
Naama Tsabar: Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 2)
September 6, 2018Congratulations to Naama Tsabar on her solo exhibition Melodies of Certain Damage (Opus 3) Faena Art Center, Buenos Aires September 6 – 8, 2018 'Faena...Read more -
Naama Tsabar: Transitions #4
April 28, 2018Congratulations to Naama Tsabar on her solo exhibition Transitions #4 Kunsthaus Baselland, Switzerland April 20, 2018 – July 16, 2018 'New-York based artist Naama Tsabar...Read more
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STIR: Striking creative chords: musical innovations that resounded acclaim in 2022
Anushka Sharma, STIR, December 27, 2022 -
Hartford Courant: Shattered electric guitars litter the floor as part of the Atheneum’s latest Matrix gallery exhibit
Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, June 9, 2022 -
Designboom: Naama Tsabar's Broken Guitars & Sound Holes Transform Miami Art Museum Into a Playable Instrument
Myrto Katsikopoulou, Design Boom, December 21, 2021 -
Cultured: Naama Tsabar Fuses Music and Sculpture, with Her Audience’s Help
Nicole Martinez, Cultured, December 6, 2021 -
Frieze: Naama Tsabar’s Soundscapes Cause A Glitch in the Patriarchy
Terence Trouillot, Frieze, December 2, 2021 -
The Art Newspaper: Naama Tsabar: ‘Shoes are kind of an underdog’
Benjamin Sutton, The Art Newspaper, November 29, 2021 -
ARTnews: Naama Tsabar Wants Viewers to Challenge the Expected Museum Experience: ‘If You Push Your Own Boundaries You’re
Tessa Solomon, ARTnews, November 29, 2021 -
Financial Times: Naama Tsabar on destroying guitars and turning life into sculpture
Anny Shaw, Financial Times, November 25, 2021 -
Art Basel: A glitch in the patriarchy: how Naama Tsabar is hacking the history of rock music
Rob Goyanes , Art Basel, November 18, 2021 -
artsy: 7 artists on the self-care rituals that keep them creative
Alina Cohen, Artsy, May 3, 2020 -
art review: Naama Tsabar, inversions
Jonathan Griffin, ArtReview, March 1, 2020 -
ocula: frieze los angeles shows to see
Tessa Moldan, Ocula Magazine, February 7, 2020 -
Art Insider: Instruments in gallery walls, ceramics in the garden, and art in a plumbing store
Lindsay Preston Zappas, KCRW Art Insider, February 4, 2020 -
Artnet News: in la for frieze week? here is out guide to 33 inspiring gallery shows to see beyond the fairs
Sarah Cascone, Artnet News, February 1, 2020 -
LA Weekly: Multimedia artist naama tsabar subverts space, in time
Trina Calderón, LA Weekly, January 31, 2020 -
Los Angeles times: frieze los angeles will use paramount backlot to explore truth, lies and hollywood
Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, December 17, 2019 -
los angeles magazine: frieze returns to the paramount backlot with installations that speak to the political moment
Brittany Martin, Los Angeles Magazine, December 17, 2019 -
bomb: naama tsabar interviewed by naomi lev
Naomi Lev, BOMB Magazine, June 25, 2018 -
artforum: critics' pick - naama tsabar
Wendy Vogel, Artforum, July 1, 2017