Daphne – A Weave of Pain and Threads
Daphne Kluger (1995–2024) was born and raised in Jerusalem, where she spent most of her life. From a young age, she cultivated an artistic spirit through various handcrafts, such as sewing and the design of shoes and bags, developing a personal visual language in drawing and collage. Her formal artistic path began at “The Garage”, a pre-academic community and arts school, where she found support and encouragement to deepen her creative practice.
Daphne studied in the Department of Textile Design at Shenkar College, where she stood out as a dedicated and outstanding student. In a short time, she developed a distinctive artistic voice rooted in skills she had acquired earlier, thoughtfully integrated into her academic coursework. The works presented in this exhibition reflect her development as an artist and express a wide emotional range: intimate and revealing pieces, projects from her years of study, and gifts she created for family and friends
Self-Portrait
In her drawings and collages, Daphne contemplates her own reflection in the mirror. Beyond realistic depiction, the eyes gaze directly at herself and at the viewer. Those same eyes—sometimes tearful—recur as embroidered or collaged images made of pieces of fabric, as bodily tissue emerges through stitched wounds. These images, rendered in dramatic colors—often red, black, and gray—gradually shift toward more abstract representations of space or rips within the fabric’s surface.It seems that through material and the practice of textiles, emotional pain takes on form as art; In material, image, and shape, Daphne left her trace embedded i the fabric.
Quiet Interludes
Across the breadth of her work, one also finds a search for rich and gentle colors, subtle tones and textures. The imagery softens into rounded forms—at once organic and abstract. Drawings of domestic spaces and everyday objects; glasses or a box with dried flowers—suggest moments of intimate stillness.
With remarkable skill, Daphne translated imagery into the language of weaving and designed woven everyday objects such as a sandal or a vessel for dried flowers. Thoughtfully, she employed drawing, painting, and collage to transform image into motifs, shaping composition and rhythm. With gifted hands and delicate crochet work, she created flowers and figures, personally dedicating them to friends and family.
Repeating Patterns
One of the foundational principles of textile production and design is repetition. In Daphne’s works from her studies, one sees her assimilation of abstraction and the repeating pattern, expressed through technical and design mastery. She attended closely to visual detail, organizing it into images and motifs arranged in layers, expanses and sequences.
The period of study established the professional foundation for her work, and the language of textiles became a central means of expression for her. Even without guidance or academic setting, Daphne continued to create. Without words—through embroidery, knitting, and weaving—one can recognize recurring formal references to images such as the tearful eye, the cut, or the wound, which have become abstract. Using threads in rich hues, the works extend beyond the flat surface, becoming relief-like.
For more information, visit Daphne Kluger’s website
Daphne – A Weave of Pain and Threads
Curator: Yuval Etzioni
Exhibition Design: Noam Bar
Installation: Noam Bar, Itamar Mevorach
Graphic Design: Shani Meller Sherlo
Exhibition closing date: June 17, 2026