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Alexander Raymond Katz
Chicago Modernist Gouache Painting Shabbat Hebrew Calligraphy WPA Artist Judaica

About the Item

A Judaica painting with Hebrew Calligraphy by noted Chicago Modernist. Alexander Raymond Katz (his Hungarian first name, Sandor, was anglicized to Alexander) was born in Kassa, Hungary, and came to the United States in 1909. He took a job at the Barron Collier company designing car card advertisements, but quit in 1922 to enroll at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1927, Katz and his family (he married in 1924) traveled back to Kassa where he pursued his first love, fine art. He reconnected with his Jewish heritage and brought back to Chicago many images of Jewish life. In the late 1920s, he worked as a director of the Poster Department at Paramount Studios. He was appointed the Director of Posters for the Chicago Civic Opera in 1930. During the Great Depression, notable architect Frank Lloyd Wright urged Katz to become a muralist. In 1933, he was commissioned to paint a mural for the Century of Progress exposition in Chicago. In 1936, he painted the mural History of the Immigrant for the Madison, Ill., post office. Katz’s works were included in various exhibitions and now are part of several museum collections, including those of the Art Institute of Chicago; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; and the Jewish Museum, New York. Katz was the recipient of numerous commissions for synagogues all over the country, creating stained glass windows, murals, bas reliefs, sculptures, and decorative items for them. He set up a studio in his apartment building and opened an office in the tower of the Auditorium Building that also housed the Little Gallery, an important venue for progressive art in the city, which operated until 1933. Katz and other Jewish artists in Chicago who expressed Jewish and Biblical themes were inspired by the artist Abel Pann (1883-1963). Pann, who is regarded as the leading painter of the Land of Israel, exhibited in the Art Institute of Chicago in 1920. Early in his career, Katz began to explore the artistic, aesthetic and philosophical possibilities inherent in the characters of the Hebrew alphabet. He developed aesthetic and philosophical interpretations of each letter and became the leading innovator and pioneer in the field of Hebraic art. His woodcut Moses and the Burning Bush, was included in the portfolio, A Gift to Birobidjan in 1937. Hebrew letters are integrated into the image. During the Great Depression, the architect Frank Lloyd Wright urged Katz to become a muralist and in 1933, he was one of eleven artists chosen to create murals for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago He won the competition for best poster for the fair in 1934. Like many artists in the 1930s, Katz participated in the government-supported arts projects. In 1936, Katz won the commission to paint the mural, History of the Immigrant, for the post office in Madison, Illinois, from the Treasury Department, the most prestigious of the projects. Katz received much acclaim for his murals at the Century of Progress World's Fair and for other WPA projects during the 1930s. His murals are at the Butler Institute of American Art; the Evansville, Indiana Museum' Madison Illinois Post Office and the Oak Park Illinois Jewish Temple.
  • Creator:
    Alexander Raymond Katz (1895-1974, Hungarian)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 23 in (58.42 cm)Width: 18 in (45.72 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Surfside, FL
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU38210576942

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Post Soviet Avant Garde Russian Israeli Gouache Collage Painting Grobman
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Michail Grobman (Russian: Михаил Гробман, Hebrew: מיכאיל גרובמן‎‎, born 1939) is an artist and a poet working in Israel and Russia. He is father to Hollywood producer Lati Grobman and Israeli architect Yasha Jacob Grobman. Biography 1939 – Born in Moscow. 1960s – Active member of The Second Russian Avant-Garde movement in the Soviet Union. 1967 – Member of Moscow Artists Union. 1971 – Emigrates to Israel and settles in Jerusalem. 1975 – Founded the Leviathan group and art periodical (in Russian). Since 1983, he lives and works mainly in Tel Aviv. Awards In 2001, Grobman was a co-recipient of the Dizengoff Prize for Painting. Solo exhibitions 2007 – Last Skies, Loushy & Peter Art & Projects, Tel Aviv (cat. text: Marc Scheps) 2006 – Creation From Chaos to Cosmos, Bar-David Museum of Fine Art and Judaica, Kibbutz Baram (cat. text: Sorin Heller) 2002 – The Last Sky, installation, Tsveta Zuzoritch pavilion, Belgrad (cat. text: Irina Subotitch) 1999 – Mikhail Grobman: Works 1960–1998, The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg (cat. texts: Evgenija Petrova, Marc Scheps, Lola Kantor-Kazovsky, Michail German) Michail Grobman was born in Moscow. He grew up writing poetry, essays and literary prose. In the 1960s, he was active in the Second Russian Avant-garde movement in the Soviet Union. In 1971, he immigrated to Israel. In 1975, he established the Leviathan school together with Avraham Ofek and Shmuel Ackerman, seeking to combine symbolism, metaphysics and Judaism in an all-inclusive “national style.” Grobman’s lithograph work employs images and symbols from Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. His paintings incorporate texts in Russian and Hebrew. In addition to his artistic endeavors, he writes about art and aesthetics. The group combined conceptual art and "land art" with Jewish symbolism. Of the three of them Avraham Ofek had the deepest interest in sculpture and its relationship to religious symbolism and images. In one series of his works Ofek used mirrors to project Hebrew letters, words with religious or cabbalistic significance, and other images onto soil or man-made structures. In his work "Letters of Light" (1979), for example, the letters were projected onto people and fabrics and the soil of the Judean Desert. In another work Ofek screened the words "America", "Africa", and "Green card" on the walls of the Tel Hai courtyard during a symposium on sculpture Part of the generation of emigre Russian artists, many Jewish, that included Yuri Kuper, Komar and Melamid, Eduard Steinberg, Erik Bulatov, Viktor Pivovarov, Vladimir Yankilevsky, Ilya Kabakov and Grisha Bruskin. Date of Birth: 1939, Moscow 1960s Active member of The Second Russian Avant Garde 1967 Member of the Moscow Painters Association 1971 Immigrated to Israel and settled in Jerusalem 1975 Founded the Leviathan group and art periodical (in Russian) Since 1983 Lives and works in Tel Aviv . Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2002 Pavilion Zveta Zuzovich, "The Last Sky", Belgrad (cat: Irena Subotitch) 1999 The State Russian Museum, ST. Petersburg 1998 "Picture = Symbol + Concept", Herzliya Museum of Art, Herzliya 1995 "Password and Image", University Gallery, Haifa University 1990 Tova Osman Gallery, Tel Aviv 1989 "The Beautiful Sixties in Moscow", The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery, Tel Aviv University (with llya Kabakov; cat. text: Mordechai Omer] Spertus Museum, Chicago Beit Rami and Uri Nechushtan, Ashdot Yaacov (leaflet) 1972 Nora Gallery, Jerusalem 1973 - Negev Museum, Beer Sheva 1971 Tel Aviv Museum of Art (cat. text: Haim Gamzu) 1966 Mos-lng-Projekt, Moscow 1965 Artist's House, Moscow Energy Institute, Moscow History Institute, Moscow Usti-nad-Orlicy Theatre,Czechoslovakia (leaflet text: Dushan Konetchni) 1959 Mukhina Art Institute, Leningrad . Selected Group Exhibitions: 2003 "Yes do yourself...", Regeneration of Judaism in Israeli art, Zman Omanut Tel Aviv (cat: Gideon Ofrat) 1999 "Russian post-war avantgarde", The Trajsman Collection in the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg Tretjakov National Gallery, Moscow (cat. text: Yevgenij Barabanov, John...
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Post Soviet Nonconformist Avant Garde Russian Israeli Gouache Painting Grobman
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MIchail Grobman Gouache and watercolor on paper Hand signed Lower Left and Dated 1964. Described inn Cyrillic Russian verso. Dimensions: L:13.25" W: 11.75". Michail Grobman (Russian: Михаил Гробман, Hebrew: מיכאיל גרובמן‎‎, born 1939) is an artist and a poet working in Israel and Russia. He is father to Hollywood producer Lati Grobman and Israeli architect Yasha Jacob Grobman. Biography 1939 – Born in Moscow. 1960s – Active member of The Second Russian Avant-Garde movement in the Soviet Union. 1967 – Member of Moscow Artists Union. 1971 – Emigrates to Israel and settles in Jerusalem. 1975 – Founded the Leviathan group and art periodical (in Russian). Since 1983, he lives and works mainly in Tel Aviv. Awards In 2001, Grobman was a co-recipient of the Dizengoff Prize for Painting. Solo exhibitions 2007 – Last Skies, Loushy & Peter Art & Projects, Tel Aviv (cat. text: Marc Scheps) 2006 – Creation From Chaos to Cosmos, Bar-David Museum of Fine Art and Judaica, Kibbutz Baram (cat. text: Sorin Heller) 2002 – The Last Sky, installation, Tsveta Zuzoritch pavilion, Belgrad (cat. text: Irina Subotitch) 1999 – Mikhail Grobman: Works 1960–1998, The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg (cat. texts: Evgeniya Petrova, Marc Scheps, Lola Kantor-Kazovsky, Michail German) Michail Grobman was born in Moscow. He grew up writing poetry, essays and literary prose. In the 1960s, he was active in the Second Russian Avant-garde movement in the Soviet Union. In 1971, he immigrated to Israel. In 1975, he established the Leviathan school together with Avraham Ofek and Shmuel Ackerman, seeking to combine symbolism, metaphysics and Judaism in an all-inclusive “national style.” Grobman’s lithograph work employs images and symbols from Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah. His paintings incorporate texts in Russian and Hebrew. In addition to his artistic endeavors, he writes about art and aesthetics. The group combined conceptual art and "land art" with Jewish symbolism. Of the three of them Avraham Ofek had the deepest interest in sculpture and its relationship to religious symbolism and images. In one series of his works Ofek used mirrors to project Hebrew letters, words with religious or cabbalistic significance, and other images onto soil or man-made structures. In his work "Letters of Light" (1979), for example, the letters were projected onto people and fabrics and the soil of the Judean Desert. In another work Ofek screened the words "America", "Africa", and "Green card" on the walls of the Tel Hai courtyard during a symposium on sculpture Part of the generation of emigre Russian artists, many Jewish, that included Yuri Kuper, Komar and Melamid, Eduard Steinberg, Erik Bulatov, Viktor Pivovarov, Vladimir Yankilevsky, Ilya Kabakov and Grisha Bruskin. Date of Birth: 1939, Moscow 1960s Active member of The Second Russian Avant Garde 1967 Member of the Moscow Painters Association 1971 Immigrated to Israel and settled in Jerusalem 1975 Founded the Leviathan group and art periodical (in Russian) Since 1983 Lives and works in Tel Aviv . Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2002 Pavilion Zveta Zuzovich, "The Last Sky", Belgrad (cat: Irena Subotitch) 1999 The State Russian Museum, ST. Petersburg 1998 "Picture = Symbol + Concept", Herzliya Museum of Art, Herzliya 1995 "Password and Image", University Gallery, Haifa University 1990 Tova Osman Gallery, Tel Aviv 1989 "The Beautiful Sixties in Moscow", The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery, Tel Aviv University (with llya Kabakov; cat. text: Mordechai Omer] Spertus Museum, Chicago Beit Rami and Uri Nechushtan, Ashdot Yaacov (leaflet) 1972 Nora Gallery, Jerusalem 1973 - Negev Museum, Beer Sheva 1971 Tel Aviv Museum of Art (cat. text: Haim Gamzu) 1966 Mos-lng-Projekt, Moscow 1965 Artist's House, Moscow Energy Institute, Moscow History Institute, Moscow Usti-nad-Orlicy Theatre,Czechoslovakia (leaflet text: Dushan Konetchni) 1959 Mukhina Art Institute, Leningrad . Selected Group Exhibitions: 2003 "Yes do yourself...", Regeneration of Judaism in Israeli art, Zman Omanut Tel Aviv (cat: Gideon Ofrat) 1999 "Russian post-war avantgarde", The Trajsman Collection in the State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg Tretjakov National Gallery, Moscow (cat. text: Yevgenij Barabanov, John Bolt...
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