The Polish-born painter Samuel Bak is well-known for his Surrealist paintings, which frequently derive from his own experience. In Vilna, Bak and his family experienced the Holocaust, but he and his mother survived, thanks to the help of a nun named Maria Mikulska, who hid them in a convent. It was during this time that Bak discovered his talent for painting. At the age of nine, living in the Jewish Ghetto, Bak had his first exhibition. Maria Mikulska encouraged his talent while in hiding, supplying him with paint and paper.
After the war, Bak left for Munich to study painting and became familiar with German Expressionism and Constructivism. In 1948, Bak and his mother immigrated to Israel and Bak studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. He moved to Paris in 1956, studying at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, where he discovered post-neoclassical Cubism, and in 1959, he moved to Rome and held his first exhibition of abstract paintings. Bak later wrote that in Paris and Rome “there was an incredible freedom, you could do practically anything. But not tell stories in paintings, and not do anything which might be considered theatrical.” A product of his varied training, Bak’s work combines elements of Realism, Surrealism and Cubism, as well as reflecting his admiration for the Old Masters, such as Albrecht Dürer and Michelangelo. However, from these he carved out his own style, choosing to go against the current and create narrative paintings drawn from his experience of the war.
Bak’s use of seemingly incoherent symbols and his play with reality and illusion has earned the artist comparisons to the Surrealist painter René Magritte. Like Magritte, Bak’s proportions are deliberately exaggerated and he often displays ordinary objects in unusual settings, giving the objects a new meaning. The unlikely combination of fruit, household objects and collections of three-dimensional shapes that occupy the foreground, set against vast natural landscapes form characteristically Surrealist, dreamlike compositions.
The artist’s personal experience colours the imagery of his paintings, often employing symbols, and artistic devices such as substitution to make his art more palatable to the viewer. He claimed; “my use of symbols, icons and metaphors managed to keep the underlying horror of my world at bay.” Rather than directly painting scenes of death, he depicted crematorium chimneys. Similarly, he painted teddy bears as a testament to the victim children. These recurring symbols are often set against a background of crumbling monuments and buildings, which remind the viewer of a world in disarray. By using the same set of symbols and images, Bak creates his own pictorial language.
Over the course of his career, Bak’s work has featured in numerous exhibitions and collections throughout Europe, Israel and the United States, where he now resides. In 1961, Bak was invited to exhibit at the “Carnegie International” in Pittsburgh. In 1963 he was honoured with retrospectives at the Yad Vashem Museum in Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The following year, he exhibited at the Venice Biennale. Other exhibitions of Bak’s work include the 1975 exhibition at the Jewish Museum of New York and an exhibition at the Barbican Centre in London in 1990. In 2002, he received the German Herkomer Cultural Prize and today, a collection of his works is on permanent display at the Pucker Gallery in Boston.
(Biography provided by Stern Pissarro Gallery)
Timepiece - SAMUEL BAK oil on canvas 1986 still-life
By Samuel Bak
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Signed lower right Provenance Private collection, New York City This work is available for viewing in our New York City showroom.
Canvas, Oil
Surrealistic Landscape
By Samuel Bak
Located in London, GB
The work is hand signed by the artist. It was painted in 1972. Literature: Art-Archives, Kunst Archive Website Catalog Raisonné of Samuel Bak Condition: Very good condition.
Oil
Contact
By Airom
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Painting depicts contact, ambiguous as to whether it could be adverse contact or intimate contact between the focal characters.
India Ink, Oil
$1,295Sale Price|20% Off
H 36.23 in W 28.75 in
Surrealist Figurative Nude Painting with Apple, Winged Female Form and Symbolic
Located in Sitges, Barcelona
Surrealist Figurative Nude Painting with Apple, Winged Female Form and Symbolic Composition, Spanish Contemporary Oil on Canvas Creator: Ángel Preciados Vega Title: Untitled (Surrea...
Oil
$959
H 23.63 in W 19.69 in D 0.79 in
Lilies are here - Oil Paint by Elena Mardashova - 2024
Located in Roma, IT
Oil painting 'Lilies are here', on canvas 60 x 50 cm, 2024.
Canvas, Oil
$1,919
H 15.75 in W 23.63 in D 0.79 in
Still Life with Ribbons - Oil Paint by Gianni Cacciarini - 1970s
By Gianni Cacciarini
Located in Roma, IT
Still life with ribbons is a modern artwork realized by Gianni Cacciarini. Mixed colored oil on board. Hand signed on the lower margin. Includes an elegant frame (with some loss).
Canvas, Oil
$1,000
H 11.82 in W 15.75 in D 0.99 in
The Light 23, Interiors of a movie set Painting. Mounted on a stretcher
Located in Miami Beach, FL
This series of pieces is the result of an investigation into the use of light as a tool for the representation of reality and image creation. Starting in the 40s, the work of the art...
Canvas, Oil
$5,520Sale Price|20% Off
H 40 in W 40 in D 1.5 in
Garden of Abstraction By Marc Zimmerman
By Marc Zimmerman
Located in Carmel, CA
A floral, but instead of a vase it finds itself in a jungle setting. Rich reds weave amongst the large green leaves and white flowers creating fullness for this tropical jungle Flor...
Canvas, Oil
$3,070Sale Price|20% Off
H 31.5 in W 39.38 in D 0.79 in
"Flower jazz" Original floral composition .Large oil painting . Home decor
Located in Oslo, NO
In this painting, I've poured my soul into the vibrant dance of nature, capturing the bursting life of flowers in a symphony of color and texture. My brushstrokes, imbued with the sp...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
$10,000
H 43 in W 37 in D 1 in
Transparent Dream Figurative Surrealism Original oil Painting, Ready to Hang
Located in Granada Hills, CA
Tigran Hovumyan Figurative Surrealist Oil Painter Artwork Title: Transparent Dream Medium: Original Oil on Linen Dimensions: 43" x 37" x 1" (109 x 94 x 3 cm) Year: 2017 Unframed, St...
Canvas, Oil
$1,000
H 11.82 in W 15.75 in D 0.99 in
The Light 19, Figurative Painting. Mounted on a stretcher
Located in Miami Beach, FL
This series of pieces is the result of an investigation into the use of light as a tool for the representation of reality and image creation. Starting in the 40s, the work of the art...
Canvas, Oil
"Night Swim" (2024) Original Oil Painting on Panel
Located in Denver, CO
Nadezda's beautiful handmade oil on panel painting "Night Swim" (2024) is a portrait of a young girl in a surreal scene, laying in ocean waters while carried by a shiver of sharks. ...
Oil, Panel
20th Century Surrealist Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Hoddesdon, GB
20th century modernist oil painting on canvas . Signed with artists monogram and Dated 1991. This large and impressive painting evokes a range of emotions and interpretations. With...
Oil
Tropical Fruit In The Basket
By Rafael Saldarriaga
Located in Lake Worth Beach, FL
Large Tropical Fruits In the Basket. RAFAEL SALDARRIAGA was born in Medellin, Colombia in 1955. Arrived in the United States in 1993. After living in New Mexico and Hawaii established his residency in New York City. He studied in Live de Zulateqi's Art Academy and also graduated from the school of Architecture and Urban Design with Pontificia Bolivariana University. In 1984 he became a full-time painter. SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2005- Galleria de Arte El Taller, Medellin, Colombia 2003-4 Notes in Color, Colombian Center Gallery, New York City 2000- Artist on the Scene, AMC Gallery, New York City 2000- Bodegones, Colombian Government Trade Bureau, New York City 1998- Still Life, United Nations Secretarial Bldg., New York City Bodegones, Consulate General of Colombia, New York City 1999-01. Open Studio, New York, NY 1985- Club Campestre, Cali Colombia 1984-93- Open Studio, Medellín, Colombia 1976- Academia de Arte Libe de Zulategi y Mejia, Medellín, Colombia GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2006. Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Open Studios, New York, NY 2005. Latin American Expressions, The Flinn Gallery, Greenwich Library, CT 2004. Latin American Art Exhibition, Wally Findlay Galleries, New York, NY 2008 Latin American Art Exhibition, Wally Findlay Galleries, Palm Beach, FL 2001. Drawings and Photographs, Gunter Knob Studio, New York City 1999. New House Galleries for Contemporary Art at Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY . Selected Latin Artists, Art Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey . Chelsea Art Walk, New York, NY 1998. AT&T Latino Art Festival 1998, Queens, NY . Latin American Art in the 90s, St. Johns University, Jamaica, New York . Chelsea Art Festival, New York City . The Belle Arts Gala, NE Gallery, New York City 1997. Hui No’eau Visual Art Center Open Studio, Maui, Hawaii . Colombia in New York, Euroamerica Gallery, New York City . Gran Prix...
Canvas, Oil
Mid Century Roman Landscape - Vista Sull Altra Riva
By Samuel Bak
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful abstracted mid century Rome landscape titled "Vista Sull Altra Riva" (On the other bank) by artist Samuel Bak (Polish, b. 1933), 1959. Painted...
Linen, Oil
Timepiece
By Samuel Bak
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
This painting is located in our New York City warehouse. The painting is in excellent condition. It is Signed Lower Right – “BAK”. The Provenance is Private Collection, New York Ci...
Oil