Tolla Inbar

Happy Books

2016

Tolla is considered one of the top Israeli artists working today. Born in Germany in 1958, Tolla attended the Merz school in Stuttgart until 1971. There she specialized in the art of ceramics and sculpture, developing her skill in an art form that would become a lifelong love story. Between 1977 - 1984 she studied at Bustan Institute and at Avni Institute of Arts, where she worked in stone and wood with well-known Russian sculptors. During these years of experimentation with varying materials, she transformed her style from realistic and figurative to more expressive and semi-abstract. Tolla describes her artistic process as a “relentless drive to keep creating different expressions of the ancient human spiritual quest for the divine.” This is evident in her rope sculptures which are both unique and naturalistic, balanced and fluid. In combining contrasting materials such as wood, metal, and bronze she is able to reflect tension or what she refers to as “spiritual optimism.” Tolla’s conviction is that, “our world is mostly composed of light and energy so that theoretically the victory of energy (spirit) over matter is only a question of time.” Tolla's works can be found in numerous private collections throughout Germany, France and the United States. ​