Prof. Yair Garbuz describes himself as someone “who is compelled to be a painter.” Although his work is spread across different disciplines - art, theater, writing, teaching - his starting point is painting. Over the years Garbuz has developed a unique painting language, which is a cross between American pop art and local painting. His collage works look like a “boxing ring” between opposing artistic styles and conflicting thoughts: Paris and New York, abstract lyricism versus conceptual painting, Eastern and Western elements, socio-political art alongside a personal creation. The figure of the artist emerges occasionally from the painting: as an observer, a guide, as a prophet or the village idiot, who conveys his story through different voices and changing identities.

Many images are compressed painting, seemingly without censoring or editing: the exposure of racism from within and without, war, whims and desires. All of these are presented in the guise of quotations from illustrations, old propaganda publications or copies of paintings by Israeli artists who have been excluded or idealized. Thus, in a unique way, Garbuz's work becomes an epic and historical creation, reflecting the split identity of Israeli society, living in constant conflict between the desire to remember and the urge to erase and forget. He held his first solo exhibition in 1967, and since then has had dozens of solo exhibitions in galleries and museums and participated in numerous group exhibitions in Israel and abroad. His paintings can be found in museum collections in Israel and in many private collections.