Igael Tumarkin

Igael Tumarkin ( 1933 – 2021) was an Israeli painter and sculptor

"Renowned Israeli artist Igael Tumarkin is internationally recognized for his public sculptures, paintings, and prints, as well as his divisive political views. A winner of the Israel Prize, Tumarkin was widely known for his anti-war politics, disdain for religion, and protest against West Bank settlements. His most famous sculpture, Monument to the Holocaust and Revival (1975), located in Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, has been an integral site of political speech, including by performance artist Ariel Bronz. Born in Germany, Tumarkin immigrated to Israel as a child. As a young artist, he studied under sculptor Rudolf Lehmann and worked at Bertolt Brecht’s Berliner Ensemble. His prints and paintings combine aspects of Abstract Expressionism, Dada, and Pop art. Tumarkin represented Israel at the Venice, São Paulo, and Tokyo biennials. The Tel Aviv Museum of Art staged a major retrospective in 1992."(.artsy.net)Tumarkin was also an art theoretician and stage designer. In the 1950s, Tumarkin worked in East Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris. Upon his return to Israel in 1961, he became a driving force behind the break from the charismatic monopoly of lyric abstraction there. Tumarkin created assemblages of found objects, generally with violent expressionist undertones and decidedly unlyrical color. His determination to "be different" influenced his younger Israeli colleagues. The furor generated around Tumarkin's works, such as the old pair of trousers stuck to one of his pictures, intensified the mystique surrounding him.