“Until recently I had 20 employees in the studio. Now it's just me here, ”says Tzachi Nevo, the owner of the UMMASQU -LIVE and art design studio, Israel21c.
Umasqu (short for Urban Masquerade), which is located in the district of Artsy Kiryat Hamelacha in South Tel Aviv, includes an exhibition room with a changing gallery and consulting services.
All wooden residential culture and works of art are produced in the studio through a process that combines technology and handicrafts.
First came covid, then war
“I continuously worked with around 300 shops worldwide, from the Lafayette gallery to the Pompidou Center,” says Nevo. “But then the coronavirus came and delivered the first blow.”
Nevo explains that the second blow was the war in Ukraine, which “shortens” the connection with the “big market” in Russia.
“And then the war came and ended most of the business we had outside of Israel,” he adds, referring to the Hamas attacks from October 7 and the subsequent armed conflict between Israel and the terrorist groups on the southwestern and northern borders.
Now the main market of Umasqu is domestic.
“I am selling well, but [the market] It's not big enough to have a personnel of people who work for me here. That is the reason why I am working alone at the moment, ”he says when he grabs a massive work of art to send a customer later that day.
Umasqu sells most products on its website. “It is a business model for direct to the course, so many customers from abroad no longer buy things from us because we are based on Israel,” explains Nevo.
Long way to art
The 60 -year -old Nevo completed the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalems Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in 1990. He worked in marketing in the next two decades.
“Ten years ago I had the opportunity to step back and think about what I really wanted to do, what was design,” explains Nevo.
“As an industrial designer, I had no experienced added value. But I knew that I had the brain of a designer, from someone who knows how to combine shapes and colors together. So I would characterize my work now. “
Nevo says that his designs – including pieces are inspired by African masks Pareidol. It is a phenomenon in which humans see faces or patterns in ambiguous pictures like Jesus on toast.
The technology with which the abstract works of art by Umasqu was used is not unique, but “what I have developed is the combination; The right mix that makes art interesting, ”says Nevo.
“One of my secret ingredients is how I use the color. I use laser cut what a very cheap technology is, but if you really paint it, it doesn't look cheap. “
Umasqu's designs are indeed very brightly colored, which, according to Nevo, reflects his love for art from the 1950s and 1960s.
He adds that because he comes from the marketing world, he knew how to make the designs attractive to customers, which is why the brand only took a few years to “lift”.
Make lemonade out of art
Although the studio no longer attracts an international market for the time being, there is no lack of orders.
“Google has four different wall decorations from me that hang in their offices in Tel Aviv. Amazon Israel is a great customer of mine; Apple bought me the right to use one of my art design as a graphic icon for one of her Apple Music playlists. I designed a special project for the Audemars Piguet, a brand on a high level.
“I also work with many hotel chains in Israel and abroad,” he adds.
Nevo looked inside when he created his latest collection. It includes a tribute to the western Negev, where the attacks on October 7 took place. The area is connected to poppy flowers that bloom every spring there.
“I didn't necessarily want to do any war. I am not this kind of artist. I am more of a comedian in the art world. However, the integration of poppy flowers creates a connection to the Negev in a very aesthetic way. “
More information about Umasqu can be found here.