Artist’s declaration:

 

 

The viewer’s involvement is very important for me. I’d like the viewer to look, to 

touch, to feel and experience.

 

We live in a new world where the media dictates our taste;

In a world that shrugs off whatever’s old, while idolizing the new;

In a world where the term ‘masterpiece’ is no longer clear, and there is no defined 

cultural canon.

 

In this world of baffling and enigmatic exhibits -  

I invite my viewers to draw near, to touch and turn items around. Please defy the

“Do Not Touch” line, and touch the objects, do touch them!

 

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Whether in his private atelier, in a gallery or museum, Gottlieb wishes his viewers to trust 

his sculptures by tangibly feeling them, and only then to receive an answer or to raise a 

question.

 

Gottlieb begins the creation of trust within the viewers in the actual process of creating 

the work of art, a process that is inherent to comprehension of the sculpture. In 2009, 

Gottlieb took first place in the Iron Forging World Championship Biennale in Stia, Italy - 

with his sculpture “Trust”, which he sculpted live in front of viewers and television 

cameras.

 

Working with steel 

 

The comparison between Gottlieb, the artist, and the material in his hands is immediate. 

Gottlieb evokes the image of the rough and tough Israeli ‘tsabar’, like the iron - a man of 

earth and solid base, an artist who works with his hands. His world view is that nothing is 

too difficult - anything can be softened, forged. Gottlieb describes the sound of the 

hammer hitting the anvil as diving into silence. At 1200 degrees, the eternal material is 

made to soften and acquiesce to his ideas. Inspired in technique and design approach by 

master forgers Uri Hofi of Israel and Claudio Bottero of Italy, Gottlieb has been teaching 

and demonstrating in his atelier in Israel, as well as Europe, the USA and Canada, since 

2004.

 

The central theme of my work is relationships

 

Gottlieb creates by observation and love of movement, of the body, relationships and 

emotions. He follows the movement and flow around him, imbuing the iron with his 

personal handprint. During the dialectic process of looking inward and out, he renders 

presence to life experiences, granting us - the viewers - a window into his inner world, his 

private island. 

 

It’s all about gentle balance 

 

Gottlieb’s works of art are ever esthetic, balanced, kinetic yet stable, positive images, 

almost naïve in balance and harmony. A couple holds on to each other in wondrous 

acrobalance; a woman’s body stretches nearly beyond limits; body and soul are mutually 

contained and held. However, there is tension between the seemingly esthetic, polished 

and balanced exterior, and the considerably greater chaos of the narrative. This is evident 

on the material level where gentle emotions and relations, feminine body outlines are 

forged of rigid raw material. On the conceptual level, Gottlieb attempts to show the 

fragility of holding, the so very gentle balance of mutuality where a tiny change in 

stability can collapse it all. Beneath the esthetics and beauty, the viewer may identify 

with controversial issues of couple relations, gender, parenthood and femininity that are 

prominent in most of the works.