Eli Gross

The Journey

I always loved art, but life led me to tech: about seven years of software testing, including in government offices. Everything changed after October 7th, when I was called up for reserve duty in an Air Force technological unit, a service that stretched past 600 days. There, between shifts, I first encountered missile fragments and Iron Dome interceptor debris. Something about these fragments moved me. I realized I had in my hands extremely meaningful raw material, that spoke to me, and that I could create something from.

“My art tells a story. The piece you choose is your chance to take part in it, not a product of war, but a story of hope.”

The Menorah of Hope

One early sculptural work changed the course of my life: the Menorah of Hope, which I created from missiles fired at Israel from Iran, Gaza and Lebanon, together with Iron Dome interceptor debris. Roughly 1.9 meters tall and half a ton, the Menorah was installed at Hostages Square in Tel Aviv for Hanukkah 2024, and became one of the Square's most recognizable symbols: thousands of yellow ribbons were tied to its branches in memory of the hostages, with white ribbons added with every release. The following year it traveled to New York, where it was lit by the Mayor at City Hall and displayed outside UN Headquarters. I left the tech industry, devoted myself fully to art, and founded the ARTillery studio in south Tel Aviv.

The Material

I don't fully polish the fragments. I leave the contrast between the damaged surface and the new form, because for me that's exactly the story. My practice fuses contemporary conflict materials with ancient Jewish symbols, exploring the intersection of war materials, personal identity, my Hasidic background, and contemporary Israeli reality. When I see objects, I see stories. I collect stories.

“Every fragment has already lived one life as a weapon. My work is to give it a second life as a witness.”

Simple Things

My first solo exhibition, "Simple Things," opened in July 2025 at the ARTillery studio in Tel Aviv, curated by Etay Gabay. At its center: an installation reconstructing objects from a home affected on October 7th, one side left dark, the other grown back to life, between brokenness and hope. My work has since been shown in further exhibitions and installations across Israel and abroad. See Exhibitions & Works for the full record.