ISRAEL’S LEADING ARTISTS/PAINTERS
1. Arie Aroch (b. Russia 1908 - 1974) was a seminal figure in bringing Israel from the modern to the contemporary art scene. He was an intellectual and Israel's ambassador to Brazil and Sweden. Aroch was a founder of the New Horizons group, but went on to create art works influenced by Rauschenberg and Twombly. He created a small but incredibly influential body of works which raised the level of art in Israel significantly - taking it from a provincial maker of semi-abstract works to a world class creator of contemporary art. His are among the rarest and most sought after Israeli art works.
Photo: Judean Hills, Anna Ticho
2. Asaf Ben-Zvi,
b. 1953. One of the most important postmodern Israeli artists. His works are
concerned with nature and the environment but also with intimate events,
private scapes and personal objects. Ben-Zvi's world is poetic and magical. He
is concerned with cycles of life. He makes observations of Israeli landscapes
from the gliders he flies.
3. Ido Bar-El,
b. 1959. One of Israel's greatest contemporary artists. He is a Tel Aviv
artist in his typical use of "poor materials." Ido will paint on pieces of
wood, plastic, automobile hood, chunks of metal and boxes. He redeems these
objects with imagery ranging from Biblical to Star wars. Recently he used
aluminum street signs to create a famous series of paintings. In it he was
commenting subtly on the loss of public authority and the movement from public
to artistic authority. One of the most thoughtful and intellectual of Israeli
artists, Ido is much respected by his peers.
4. Marc Chagall,
1887 - 1985. The greatest Jewish master of the Twentieth Century. Born in
Russia he created modern masterworks in Russia and France. In addition to
being one of the century's greatest painters, he was the greatest stained
glass artist of his time, and a master printmaker. His graphics treat the
whole range of subjects from village life to lovers and flowers, Paris, Jewish
and Biblical themes, the joys and sufferings of the Jewish people.
5. Pinchas
Cohen-Gan,
b. 1942. Israel's great contemporary master. Cohen-Gan is internationally
renowned with many museum shows including New York, Sweden, France, Israel and
San Francisco. He was a major voice in bringing back the figure and subject
matter to modern art that was either Pop or minimal. His art reflects deep
political and social concerns. His art directly confronts man's condition
while challenging and commenting on his fellow artists
6. Moshe
Gershuni,
b. 1936. Once a conceptual artist who sang prayers at museums and galleries,
Gershuni is now an expressionist painter many feel is Israel's most powerful
artist. His works have dealt with war and Israel's politics and morality. His
newest works explore the heights and depths of religion and the nature of
belief.
7. Moshe
Kupferman,
b. 1926. Kupferman had a one-man show at the Pompidou Center in 1987. This
Paris show will travel to the U.S. He is a powerful abstract expressionist
painter who is regarded by many critics as not only Israel's best painter but
one of the world's best painters. He was included in the prestigious drawing
show at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C. in 1984.
8.
Michal Na'aman,
b. 1951.
Israel's most important woman
artist. Subject of a major exhibition and retrospective at the Tel Aviv Museum
in 1999. Her works are complicated, mysterious, symbolic, provocative and
shocking. She uses Biblical imagery, Freudian symbolism, historical material,
mythology and many other sources to explore gender roles, religion, politics,
Jewishness, Israel, and family relations. A giant of contemporary Israeli art.
9. Anna Ticho,
1894 - 1981. Israel's most famous woman artist. Her magnificent Arab-style
home was recently turned in to a part of the Israel Museum and is open to
visitors in Jerusalem. Educated in Austrian and German methods of
draughtsmanship, she sketched the hills of Jerusalem for 65 years. She became
one of the great masters of drawing. Her works are like those of a Chinese
landscape master. Her late etchings are also magnificent works.
10. Yaacov Agam, b. 1928. The most famous living Israeli artist. He works in Paris but is an international figure. Agam has done kinetic (moving) art works (figuratively and literally) all over the world. He works in every medium - even painting the entire Le Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles. He has designed rooms for the President of France and is currently building a computer-controlled fountain for the center of Tel Aviv.
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