Biography
Avi Albers Ben Chamo (b. 1973) is a Berlin-based artist whose multidisciplinary practice navigates the intersections of sensory intimacy, collective memory, and the "Kavanism" theory of directed intention. Drawing from his Israeli heritage and the progressive philosophy of his ancestor, Rabbi Joseph Messas, Ben Chamo’s work functions as a humanistic mirror, seeking to bridge the gap between isolation and profound connection through a tactile engagement with the canvas.
The artist’s ongoing exploration of the sensory reached a significant milestone in 2024 with the introduction of Touch 1, a seminal work conceived during an residency in Sicily that now resides in the permanent collection of the Museo San Rocco for Contemporary Art in Trapani. This series, which invites the viewer to move beyond the traditional "do not touch" directive of the museum space, evolved into a complex dialogue with the public in Berlin. In early 2024, at the Monday Art Saloon, Ben Chamo presented Touch 3, a work that became a focal point for institutional discourse after it was vandalized with Nazi iconography. Rather than obscuring the damage, the artist incorporated the "vandalized touch" into the work’s provenance, presenting a commentary on truth and defeat through a dialogue with the black marker strokes that attempted to erase its original intent.
Ben Chamo’s work increasingly addresses historical voids and the restoration of cultural memory. In December 2024, his piece Kriah was displayed at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum in Cologne, further establishing his presence within German institutional collections. His most recent projects forge a temporal bridge to the past, notably at Villa Seligmann in Hanover. Following a 2025 presentation for Hanover’s Night of the Museums, Ben Chamo will return to the Villa on June 6, 2026, to debut The Perfume Portraits. This upcoming solo exhibition introduces an olfactory dimension to his practice, effectively "bringing home" the sensory elements of touch and smell that were lost when the villa's original neo-baroque allegories were destroyed during World War II.
Looking forward, Ben Chamo continues to expand his global footprint with a scheduled solo exhibition of his Perfume Portraits at the MMAE720 Art in Beijing in March 2026.