Avraham Ofek

Avraham Ofek
Avraham Ofek
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.

Biography

Avraham Ofek was born in Burgas, Bulgaria. He immigrated to Israel in 1949, and 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 Leviathan group. He represented Israel at the Venice Biennale in 1972.

Artistic style

Avraham Ofek's early paintings of landscape were at both lyrical and rugged; later in his career the landscape was undefined and receded into the background. Near the end of his life, the landscape of Jerusalem became an important motif, reflecting loss and despair. Many of Ofek's landscapes convey 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.

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

  1. ↑ "אברהם אופק : ציוני דרך". lib.cet.ac.il. Retrieved 2016-03-24.
  2. 1 2 "Israel Museum Exhibition listing - Landscape of Longing". imj.org.il. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  3. ↑ "Museum Exhibition listing - Table for Two". imj.org.il. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  4. ↑ http://www.imj.org.il/exhibitions/presentation/exhibit.asp?id=64
  5. ↑ "Israel Museum Exhibition listing - Family Traces". imj.org.il. Retrieved 2012-06-07.
  6. ↑ "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.
  • 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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