Yael Frank

A research-based interdisciplinary artist, Yael Frank’s work examines the fragility of agency through sculpture, video, architecture, and image-making. Frank orchestrates humorous scenarios that satirically blend elements from popular culture, site-specific references, art history, and history, alongside poetic explorations of imagery and sculptural materiality. These materialize into works that engage emotional responses and transcend conventional language, creating space for complex critical ideas to manifest on a visceral level.

Examining fictional premises and their capacity to produce real consequences in the physical world, Frank’s projects include works such as In a Nutshell, where a palm tree bends over a rooftop; The Last Hour of Cabinet I, where Ikea vitrines stand in silent mourning; and Salami, where cats disturbingly climb over the word “peace”—each intervention offering a poetic reshuffling of political thought and architectural space. These works exist in the space between nonsense and metaphor, where comedy and storytelling subtly unravel critique. The approach is both savage and soft, quietly disrupting established linguistic logic while fostering empathy.

During the residency, Frank will continue the development of Sniff, a parodic nature film that juxtaposes muppet absurdity with ecological seriousness. A multidisciplinary project, it explores themes of muteness, the collapse of language, and the crisis of agency through a sculptural video format. The work examines how language and communication break down in complex systems, utilizing parody and satire to reflect the fragmented nature of modern discourse. Sniff investigates the tension between intention and impact, focusing on moments where meaning fails to translate into action.

Biography

Born in Tel Aviv in 1982, Yael Frank currently lives and works in Montreal. Her work has been exhibited internationally in institutions such as The Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, The Brno House of Art in the Czech Republic, Zachenta National Gallery in Warsaw, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, and Artport Residency Gallery in Tel Aviv. She holds a Bachelors degree from The Cooper Union School of Art and a Masters degree from The Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Frank is the recipient of the Anselm Kiefer Prize by The Wolf Foundation, and the Keshet Award for Contemporary Art by the Bar-Gil Avidan Family, and a recipient of grants from Artis, The Ostrovsky Family Fund, and The Rabinovitch Foundation Fund for Art. Frank was an Adjunct Professor at the Bezalel Academy for Art and Design, Jerusalem from 2015-2023.

Recent exhibitions

2024	How do we Become, group exhibition, Gwangju Biennale Pavilion, Gwangju, KR
2023	The Sleepers, permanent public art commission, City Cultural Council, Tel Aviv, IL
2022	GRAVITY, drama!, site-specific installation, ISS International Space Station
2021	GRID, Solo exhibition, The Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, IL