Abstract Expressionist cityscape of Old City of Jerusalem in moody blues and gold. Yitzhak Greenfield, painter, born 1932, Brooklyn, New York His focus is on the heavenly and the terrestrial Jerusalem; on the Hebrew alphabet; and on central themes in Jewish tradition and culture. He deals with the tension between figurative and abstract.
Education
1946 Educational Alliance Art School, New York City, with Abba Ostrowsky, Chaim Gross, and Louis Lozowick.
1948 Thomas Jefferson High School, Brooklyn, New York, Art
1953 Drawing and Drawing Wall Murals,Seminar at Givat Haviva with P. Pelzig, Yohanan Simon, and Naftali Bezem.
1960 Printmaking with the artist and printmaker Borin, Venice, Italy
1979-1981 Morris Blackburn Print Workshop, New York City, U.S.A.
Teaching
Art Kibbutz Gal-On and Gat
1961-1963 Arts, regional school at Mateh-Yehuda
Regional school, Mate-Yehuda
Anglican school, Jerusalem
1965–70 Bet Ha'am, Popular University Outreach Program, Jerusalem
Ruth Youth Wing, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Shira Mushkin: Majestic scenes in blue, gold and indigo, radiating spheres and grand expanses hover above architectural forms and clusters of Hebrew letters, revealing dreamlike realities. These are the creations of the artist Yitzhak Greenfield who works in watercolor and acrylic paints layered with collages of painted papers, discarded book materials, and fragments of his own prints. Applying parts of broken furniture, clock springs, iron locks and keys, the artist forms assemblages that hint at familiar settings, resonating the past. For Brooklyn born, Israeli artist Yitzhak Greenfield, these visions are the essence of the Jerusalem landscape, inspired by the city’s ever-changing magical scenery.
For generations, Jerusalem has been a focal point for the Jewish people. It is the center of Jewish life, faith, hope, history, and consciousness. Jerusalem holds a particular significance for Greenfield, who moved to Ein Kerem, Jerusalem over fifty years ago, after living on a kibbutz. Greenfield is a Jerusalem artist, and he remarks: “Living and working in Jerusalem is a special journey for me. My works are visionary landscapes, which are reconstructions of Jerusalem, not always relating to specific sites.” The artist has always been intrigued by the historical and dynamic nature of the city, as he constantly explores his own connection to the traditional and spiritual forms of Judaism. Greenfield’s art is linked to Jewish and Israeli history and symbols, such as the Hebrew letters, Jewish amulets, and the Ten Sephirot (Kabbalah emanations), containing aesthetic qualities of the material and the spiritual.
Working in a distinctive modernist method, Greenfield’s artwork lends itself to rich possibilities of expression. The exhibition Yitzhak Greenfield: Exploring Jerusalem comprises three main series from the artist’s career, which span over the course of many years and continue to this day; Jerusalem Visions, Jerusalem Assemblages, and Landscape and Meditation on the Hebrew Letter. These artworks portray timeless dream-landscapes of Jerusalem. The hidden secrets of the city are locked away in assemblage constructions, and prints depicting Hebrew letters illuminate into mystical meanings. The spectator travels along with Greenfield through his creations, exploring Jerusalem and experiencing a spiritual and living Judaism, in which the artist constantly searches for the expression of his cultural and spiritual legacy as he reconstructs Jerusalem.
1966 General Exhibition - Jerusalem Artists' House
Artists: Hirszenberg, Samuel Boris Schatz, Lilien, Ephraim Moses, Joseph Budko, Leopold Krakauer, Meir Gur Arie, Jacob Eisenberg, Ben Zvi, Zeev Palombo...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Avis Newman Paintings
MaterialsMixed Media, Tempera
