Michael Gross (artist) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Michael Gross was an Israeli painter, sculptor and conceptual art

Conceptual art

Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...

ist.

Biography

Gross was born in Tiberias in British-administered Palestine in 1920. In 1939-1940, he studied at the Teachers’ Training College in Jerusalem. From 1943 to 1945, he studied architecture at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...

. From 1951 to 1954, he studied art at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts

École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts

The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts is the distinguished National School of Fine Arts in Paris, France.The École des Beaux-arts is made up of a vast complex of buildings located at 14 rue Bonaparte, between the quai Malaquais and the rue Bonaparte, in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Près,...

in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He returned to Israel in 1954 and settled in the artists’ village of Ein Hod

Ein Hod

Ein Hod is a communal settlement in northern Israel. Located south of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa in northern Israel, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In 2008 it had a population of 559....

Artistic style

Gross's works are imbued with the light and spirit. They are minimalist, but never pure abstraction, always tied to natural form and laden with feeling. In his early paintings, Gross simplified form in order to concentrate on proportion, broad areas of color, and the size and placement of each element. This reductive process was also notable in his sculptures, whether in painted iron or other materials such as white concrete. In later paintings, he often juxtaposed large off-white panels with patches of tone, adding textured materials such as wooden beams, burlap and rope. Gross’s rough, freely-brushed surfaces, along with the use of soft pastel coloring, conjure up images of the Israeli landscape.

Education

1936-1940 Teachers Seminary, Jerusalem
1943-1945, Technion, Haifa, architecture, studied sculpture with Moshe Ziffer
Moshe Ziffer
-Biography:Ziffer was born in 1902 in Przemyśl, Austro-Hungary. He emigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1919. In 1924-33, he studied sculpture in Vienna, Berlin and Paris. Stone sculptures by Ziffer are on display at the campuses of Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Ziffer...

.
1951-1954 Beaux Arts, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

with Michel Gimond

Teaching

1954 - 1954 Higher School of Education, Haifa.
1957-1960 Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem
1960-1980 Oranim Art Institute, Tivon

Awards

In 1964: the Herman Struck Prize
In 1967: the Dizengoff Prize
Dizengoff Prize
The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality since 1937.The following is a table of Dizengoff Prize laureates in their respective art form:...
In 1971: the Gold Medal, São Paulo Art Biennial
São Paulo Art Biennial
The São Paulo Art Biennial was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennial , which serves as its role model....
In 1977: the Sandberg Prize for an Israeli Artist, Israel Museum
In 1987: the Minister of Education and Culture Prize for Painting and Sculpture
In 1995 Gamzu Prize, Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

Museum
In 2000: the Israel Prize
Israel Prize
The Israel Prize is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is largely regarded as the state's highest honor. It is presented annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state ceremony in Jerusalem, in the presence of the President, the Prime Minister, the Knesset chairperson, and the...

for painting and sculpture.

Outdoor and Public Art

1974, Kiryat Hayovel (Simon Bolivar Park), Jerusalem
1980, Kibbutz Messilot
1982 To the victims of the sea, 1969, Tel-Aviv University
1985 Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...

University
1996 "Trio"- square of Tel- Aviv Museum of Art

External links

Michael Gross from the collections of the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

http://www.imj.org.il/imagine/collections/results-free.asp?searchType=simple&words2=Michael+Gross&Submit=Search
Michael Gross from the Israeli artist list of the Information Center for Israeli Art
Information Center for Israeli Art
The Information Center for Israeli Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the Israeli Art in Israel. More than 12,000 artists files are housed in the Center in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem....

at the Israel Museum
Israel Museum
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem was founded in 1965 as Israel's national museum. It is situated on a hill in the Givat Ram neighborhood of Jerusalem, near the Bible Lands Museum, the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....

http://www.imj.org.il/artcenter/default.asp?artist=272862&list=A
Europeana – Gross+ Michael, Israeli, 1920-2004