Ilya Shenker

Post Soviet Avant Garde Russian Woodcut Print With Hand Watercolor Painting

c.1960s

This depicts a feast style celebration scene in a style of German Expressionism. hand signed and hand painted in watercolor. Ilya Shenker, Russian/American (1922 - ) As a soldier in World War II, he survived where millions perished. Upon returning to his home town of Odessa, felt abandoned and alone. He studied Art and Architecture in Odessa, but, one of a number of Russian Jewish artists allowed to emigrate, he left for America when the opportunity arose. He settled in New York City, a choice that has forever impacted his oeuvre. Many of his pictures depict New York cityscapes and lifestyle; however, they remain typically Russian. His subject matter often comes from memory and includes the life that he left behind, family, and friends. Drawing upon his Jewish heritage for inspiration, Shenker also paints historical events, such as "On the Eve of the Assault" in which he portrayed the last night before the destruction of Jerusalem. He has also illustrated a number of classics of Russian literature including Alexander Pushkin. His use of imagination also applies to the figures in his expressionist paintings—fictional characters such as the Spanish literary character Don Quixote make appearances in his work. He has also placed figures such as Rembrandt and Picasso in modern settings: in "Rembrandt Visiting our Family," Shenker sits his most favored artist at his family table, in a tribute to someone he describes as a "peoples artist." He is one in a long line of great Soviet Russian Judaica Jewish artists beginning with Yehuda Pen, who founded Russia's first art school for Jews in Vitebsk in 1897 continuing with his students, including Marc Chagall and El Lissitzky, Natan Altman, Leon Bakst and Robert Falk...

Genre: Expressionist Subject: Figures Medium: Watercolor Surface: Paper Country: Austria Dimensions w/Frame: 21" x 26 3/4" Heimrad Prem (1934 – 1978) was a German painter born in Roding, Oberpfalz. From 1949–1952 he studied decorative painting at Schwandorf and then studied painting with Josef Oberberger and sculpture with Toni Stadler at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich until 1956. While studying painting with Ernst Emil Schumacher at the Hochschule der Künste, Berlin, he formed Gruppe SPUR with Lothar Fischer, Helmut Sturm, and Hans-Peter Zimmer. After meeting Asger Jorn, SPUR joined the Situationist International. He was influenced by the Cobra artists Karel Appel and Otmar Alt. In 1960 he won a scholarship of the Kulturpreises im Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie, Cologne. From 1960–1962 he co-edited the magazine SPUR. In 1961 he visited Oerkelljunga, Sweden with Sturm, Zimmer and Dieter Kunzelmann staying with Jørgen Nash...