Yemei Beresheet

Ariel Wardi, born in Turin in 1929, is a typographer, designer, and printer who served as head of the Printmaking Program at Hadassah. In 1990, he acquired a Vandercook printing press and effectively established a private press, in which he produces—by hand—all stages of the bookmaking process: type casting, composition and design, printing, and binding.
Over the years, he has printed hundreds of books, all issued as unique, numbered copies. His continual refinement of printing techniques, combined with a rigorous commitment to the exceptional quality of letterpress printing, has driven him to develop and explore a new method and style with each project. The books fall into two main categories. The first comprises letterpress books in which he printed short biblical texts, using a typeface he cast and cut himself, inspired by the David cursive type. These books were produced in small editions, each with its own unique binding, some made of sand and earth. The second category consists of print books, in which monoprints replace text and contemplation replaces reading. Each book contains more than twenty different prints and is hand-sewn and bound or assembled in cardboard portfolios.
Copies of his books have been acquired by international libraries and by the Israel Museum. They have been exhibited, among other venues, at the Library of Congress in Washington, at an exhibition at the National Library, and at the Mamuta art & research center, in a joint exhibition with the artist Hadassah Goldwicht.