Avraham Ofek
| Avraham Ofek | |
|---|---|
 Avraham Ofek Photographer: Stanley I. Batkin | |
| Born |
August 14, 1935 Burgas, Bulgaria |
| Died | January 13, 1990 |
| Nationality | Israeli |
| Known for | Painting & sculpture |
| Movement | Israeli art |
Avraham Ofek (August 14, 1935 – January 13, 1990[1]) was an Israeli sculptor, muralist, painter and printmaker. Born in Burgas, Bulgaria, he immigrated to Israel in 1949, where he lived in Ein Hamifratz, a kibbutz near Haifa. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, as well as in Spain and in London, and later taught art in Jerusalem before being appointed head of the Art Department at the University of Haifa. He was one of the founders of the Levitan group of artists, and he exhibited internationally, receiving many prizes and representing Israel at the Venice Biennale in 1972.
Avraham Ofek's early paintings contained portrayals of landscape that were at once lyrical and rugged; later in his career, most depictions of the landscape appeared as undefined and receded into the background. Near the end of his life, however, the actual landscape of Jerusalem returned to assume an important role in Ofek's work, this time embodied in images that reflect the loss and despair that engulfed the artist. Many of Ofek's landscapes are laden with a sense of alienation and solitude, as well as nostalgia for the city of his birth, Sofia.[2]
His murals can be seen across Israel, notably at Kfar Uria and the Central Post Office Building (Jerusalem). His sculpture "The Binding of Isaac" is on view at the entrance to Safra Square.
In 1989 the Jerusalem Print Workshop issued a collection of reproductions of his prints edited by Uri Katz, with commentary in Hebrew and English.
Gallery
-
Untitled, 1958
Israel Museum Collection -
Jerusalem, the Russian Compound, 1963
Israel Museum Collection
B63.12.3440 -
Homage to Asher, 1966
stone
Tefen Open Museum -
Part of a Muriel, 1970
Kfar Uria -
Part of a Muriel, 1970
Kfar Uria -
Part of a Muriel, 1977
Jerusalem Central Post Office -
Hailek Ben Shachar, 1982
stone
Gan Hrakevet, Arlozorof straat, Tel Aviv-Yaffo -
Binding of Isaac, 1986
stone
Safra Square, Jerusalem -
Stone, 1987
sandblasting on Jerusalem stone
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel -
Part of a Mural, 1988
University of Haifa -
Part of a Mural, 1988
University of Haifa
Education
- Painting under Arie Rothman
- 1958-1960 Academy of Fine Arts, Florence
- 1961 Study Tour to Seville and Madrid, Spain, and London
- 1969 Study Tour to Europe and U.S.A.
Teaching
- 1965-1975 Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem
- 1975 Head of the Art Department, Television, Jerusalem
- 1978-1981 Art Department, Haifa University
- 1984-1990 Professor, Art Department, Haifa University
Prizes
- 1959 - America-Israel Cultural Foundation
- 1969 - Jerusalem Prize for painting and Sculpture
- 1990 - Ish-Shalom Prize for Life's Work in Art.
Outdoor and Public Art
- 1970 Mural, Beit Haam, Kfar Uria
- 1972 Mural, Central Post Office, Jerusalem
- 1973 Mural, Agron School, Jerusalem
- 1974 "Mountains round about Jerusalem", Mural, Stone School, Jerusalem
- 1976 "Return to Zion" Mural, Tel Aviv University Library, Tel Aviv
- 1982 Hailek Ben Shachar, stone sculpture, Gan Harakevet, Arlozorof Street, Tel Aviv-Yaffo
- 1986 Binding of Isaac, Safra Square, Jerusalem
- 1986 Homage to Asher, 1966 stone sculpture, Tefen Open University, Tefen
- 1986-1987 Israel, a shattered dream, Mural, Haifa University, Haifa
- 1987 Stone sculpture, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel
- 2000 "סלע קיומנו" or Binding of Isaac (1986), stone sculpture, Gan Daniel,Safra Square, Jerusalem (originally exhibited in Herzelia)
Selected Exhibitions
- Table for Two. Avraham Ofek and Micha Ullman, The Ticho House, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2000[3]
- Landscape of Longing: Avraham Ofek's Early and Late Works, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2007[2][4]
- Family Traces, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2009[5][6]
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Avraham Ofek. |
- ↑ "אברהם אופק : ציוני דרך". lib.cet.ac.il. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
- 1 2 "Israel Museum Exhibition listing - Landscape of Longing". imj.org.il. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ↑ "Museum Exhibition listing - Table for Two". imj.org.il. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ↑ http://www.imj.org.il/exhibitions/presentation/exhibit.asp?id=64
- ↑ "Israel Museum Exhibition listing - Family Traces". imj.org.il. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- ↑ "Virtual exhibition of Family Traces". imj.org.il. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
- Jewish Museum, Avraham Ofek, New York, The Jewish Museum, 1973.
- Kampf, Avraham, Avraham Ofek - Murals, University of Haifa, 1987.
- Mendelsohn, Amitai, Landscape of Longing: Avraham Ofek's Early and Late Works, Jerusalem, The Israel Museum, 2007.
- Ofrat, Gideon Sifriat Poalim, Home - Avraham Ofek: Works 1956 - 1986, Tel-Aviv, 1986.
- Ronen, Avraham, Avraham Ofek, Tel Aviv, Hakibbutz Hameuhad, 1989.
External links
- Avraham Ofek collection at the Israel Museum. Retrieved January 22, 2012
- "Avraham Ofek". Information Center for Israeli Art. Israel Museum. Retrieved January 22, 2012.
- Art of Avraham Ofek at Europeana. Retrieved January 22, 2012
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