Exhibition - Mamuka Muchaeli - From the Other Side of the Looking Glass

Opening: Saturday, November 7th at 16:00, 2026.

Closure:  May 8th, 2027

Admission ticket:  70 NIS. For scheduling: 052-5092193, Gadi.

Location: Bohouse main gallery space. Shaar Efraim.  Waze

The exhibition “From the Other Side of the Looking Glass” by extraordinary artist Mamuka Michaeli, takes the viewer beyond the familiar reflection, opening a passage into an alternate space - a realm where we shed the remnants of civilization, cast off our masks, and come face-to-face with our true essence.

In the artist’s work, the human body exists at the intersection of social conventions, physical constraint, and internal taboos. At the heart of this world lies the exposed body and a profound solitude - one that even physical intimacy cannot heal. Though the figures may be close to one another, an abyss lies between them; they are together, yet each remains locked within their own world. And yet, amidst the darkness and the grotesque, an unexpectedly pure motif occasionally emerges: a small white daisy, symbolizing the fragile hope and tenderness, preserved beneath the armor.

 "The moment you start talking about an artwork, it immediately loses its shape," Mamuka admits. Instead, his concept speaks through the technique itself: works on paper - from small drawings to giant sheets - created in pencil, ink, pen, acrylic, and monotype, in a careful monochrome with rare touches of color. His line acts as an X-ray of the soul: a flat web of lines fills the background, thickening inside the figures into a dense weave of fine fibers. The artist’s gaze seems to penetrate beneath the skin, exposing blood vessels and muscles, while his fragile, distorted figures appear as though stitched together from patches of pain and memory. This entire structure is held together by a broken contour that echoes the expressionism of Egon Schiele, yet remains unmistakably Mamuka’s own and unique signature style.

The tension in his art is rooted in his personal history. Born in Batumi in 1977, Mamuka is both a painter and a writer; his texts accompany several of the works in the exhibition, engaging in a dialogue with them. Mamuka grew up in Georgia, surrounded by a rich history and culture, yet his work crosses national borders and speaks to everyone. His artistic language draws upon world literature, German Expressionism, and the Vienna Secession, with influences ranging from Klimt to Schiele. After graduating from Batumi University and the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts, Mamuka spent over a decade teaching drawing and painting. He has held five solo exhibitions in Georgia, and participated in international symposiums in Lithuania and Poland.

In 2017, he moved to Israel. Throughout his life, he has lived through numerous wars - both in his homeland and in Israel - which have deeply shaped his perception of the world and humanity. Following his first exhibition in Tel Aviv in 2023, the BoHouse space now hosts a collection of 40 works from his Israeli period, including pieces created over the last three years. Today, the artist lives a modest life in Haifa, and the contrast between his quiet daily existence and his turbulent inner world turns every line on paper into a living testament to his personal life journey.

Curators:

Gadi Boleslavsky & Dina Bova 

Visiting:

After the opening, the exhibition is open daily by appointment. Visits include a 60–90 minute guided tour of both the exhibition and the BoHouse private art collection (minimum 6 people). Tours usually take place on Saturdays at 16:00—please check our announcements for updates. To book your visit, call or message Gadi at 052-5092193.