Video by Anna Tzipin
Masha Ainbinder (1940 – 2023)
Masha Ainbinder was born in Moscow and resided in Riga since 1949. She studied at the Kalinin Moscow School of Art and Industry and worked as an artist at the Riga Porcelain Factory (Formerly Kuznetsovsky). In 1969, she graduated from the Painting Department of the Latvian Academy of Arts and worked as a theatre artist.
Since 1992, Masha Ainbinder has lived in Jerusalem. She is the winner of the Gelberg Prize (1998) and the Ish-Shalom Prize (2002). Her works can be found in the Riga Museum, the Art Fund of Latvia, as well as in private collections in Israel, Russia, France, the United States, and other countries.
Selected Exhibitions:
2025 — "Still Life" Group Exhibition. Beit Naima Gallery, Jerusalem.
2024 — "Color, Light and Shadow in the Painting of Masha Ainbinder", House of Quality, Jerusalem.
2023 — "Отвоёванное у Хаоса" ("Wrested from Chaos"), Cultural Centre "Harmony", Jerusalem. 2016 — "Twenty-15" Group Exhibition. Jerusalem House of Quality, Jerusalem.
2015 — "Twenty-25" Ministry of Immigration and Absorption and The Cultural Center "Harmony",
Group Exhibition. Jerusalem.
2015 — "Portraits" Art Museum of Jurmala, Latvia (together with Vika Matison, a former pupil of Masha).
2005 — "A Mediterranean View", Nora Art Gallery, Jerusalem.
2002 — "Landscapes" Group Exhibition, Nora Art Gallery, Jerusalem.
1999 — "Autumn Exhibition of Jerusalem Artists", Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies, Jerusalem. 1999 — Group Exhibition, Gerard Behar Centre, Jerusalem .
1996 — "Landscapes", Nora Art Gallery, Jerusalem.
1995 — "Still Life" (joint exhibition with B. Lekar and Itella Mastenbaum), Jerusalem (Sponsored by the Israeli Artists' Association (IUPA) and Israel Ministry of Immigration and Absorption).
1986 — Jurmala Art Museum, Jurmala.
1984 — Rosenthal and Blaumanis Museum, Riga.
1978 — "Trud" Newspaper, Moscow.
Masha Ainbinder's paintings defy easy categorization and elude conventional analysis. They do not fit within the realms of poetic surrealism or hyperrealist rigidity often associated with social contexts. They do not offer intellectual hints of the "spiritual" or indulge in the grotesque. Nor do they explore grotesque themes or evoke emotional responses to the local landscape. Instead, Ainbinder's works present something else entirely—an untraceable assertion of the world, its essentiality, and its elusive nature to the restless mind that has already formed its own strength. Simultaneously, her paintings provide a resolute confirmation for those who still seek to comprehend their relationship with the world through direct engagement. Ainbinder's art invites viewers to embark on a genuine quest, as true painting, particularly contemporary painting, serves as the visual expression of existential courage. It dares to confront the self-formulated ultimate truth about the world surrounding us.
However, this formulation itself poses a visual challenge. To evoke in others the same mental sensations and effectively communicate one's perspective, an artist must master the manipulation of space and the pictorial elements of texture and color. The ability to attract color and command volume becomes essential. This is the crux of the matter. Without genuine vision, a steady hand, courage, and the ability to resist falling into familiar traps, whether one's own or others', the canvas will bear witness to a lifeless and uninspiring outcome.
Engaging in the path of painting per se is not an easy fate for an artist. Yet, this was the path that destiny bestowed upon Masha Ainbinder...
— Lola Kantor, Doctor of Arts, Jerusalem
Masha Ainbinder's works embody a sense of timelessness, evoking a connection to the past that transcends thousands of years. It is an understanding of time that often emerges in the latter half of life, born from the experience of observation and the realization of the repetitive nature of moments and their inherent constancy. Above all, Ainbinder instilled in me the belief that genuine moments do exist, and they possess intrinsic value. It is these moments that must be captured and conveyed. What truly astonishes is that the presence of eternity, the illumination of this recurring light, can be discovered in any place, defying limitations.
— Vika Matisson, Artist, Riga
I have often wondered, more than once: why does she paint so slowly? How many times have I heard her say: "It's pretty, but it came suspiciously easy for me." It seemed that when the canvas was finished, she was advised to leave it, not to spoil it, but she kept building up withered, worm-infested layers of paint, like fermented parboiled bread, painting on top.
A porous crust gradually grows on the canvas, and its thickness becomes a temporal coordinate. Her canvases are three-dimensional, resembling sculptures. Perhaps she needs the picture to mature, to acquire an extract of time within it. Her paintings are always heavy, hard to lift, full of space and time.
— Susanna Chernobrova, Artist, Jerusalem