Michael Gross (artist)

Michael Gross
Born	1920–2004 Tiberias, Israel
Nationality	Israeli
Field	painter, sculptor
Movement	Israeli art

Michael Gross (Hebrew: מיכאל גרוס‎; born 1920, died 4 November 2004) was an Israeli painter, sculptor and conceptual artist.

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. From 1951 to 1954, he studied art at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He returned to Israel in 1954 and settled in the artists’ village of Ein Hod.

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.^[1] 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.^[2]

Gallery

• 

  "Queen" (1969-1970), Painted iron, Israel Museum, Jerusalem

• 

  Cry, Pray, 1992
  painted iron
  Israel Museum Collection
  B92.1547

• 

  First Chapter of Wall Work, 1977
  Israel Museum Collection
  B94.0762

• 

  "To the victims of the sea" (1969), painted iron, Tel-Aviv University

• 

  Monument, Tel-Aviv University

• 

Education

• 1936-1940 Teachers Seminary, Jerusalem
• 1943-1945, Technion, Haifa, architecture, studied sculpture with Moshe Fisher.
• 1951-1954 Beaux Arts, Paris 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^[3]
• In 1967: the Dizengoff Prize^[3][4]
• In 1971: the Gold Medal, São Paulo Art Biennial^[3]
• In 1977: the Sandberg Prize for an Israeli Artist, Israel Museum^[3]
• In 1987: the Minister of Education and Culture Prize for Painting and Sculpture^[3]
• In 1995 Gamzu Prize, Tel Aviv Museum
• In 2000: the Israel Prize for painting and sculpture.^[5][6]

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

External links

• Michael Gross from the collections of the Israel Museum [1]
• Michael Gross from the Israeli artist list of the Information Center for Israeli Art at the Israel Museum [2]
• Europeana – Gross+ Michael, Israeli, 1920-2004

References

1. ^ Ein Hod, Israeli Prize winners
2. ^ Artfact: Michael Gross
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Israel Art Index
4. ^ "List of Dizengoff Prize laureates" (in Hebrew). Tel Aviv Municipality. http://www.tel-aviv.gov.il/Hebrew/_MultimediaServer/Documents/12516742.pdf. 
5. ^ "Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Recipient’s C.V.". http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashas/MichaelGros/. 
6. ^ "*Israel Prize Official Site (in Hebrew) – Judges' Rationale for Grant to Recipient". http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashas/MichaelGros/NimukeiAshoftimGross.htm. 

Further reading

• Michael Gross, Paintings and Sculpture, Haifa, Haifa Museum, 1964
• Michael Gross, Outdoor and Indoor Works, 1976-77, Jerusalem, Israel Museum, 1977
• Michael Gross, Recent Works , Jerusalem, Israel Museum, 2002, ISBN 9652782971
• Omer, Mordechai, Michael Gross, Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, 1993

See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients

Persondata
Name	Gross, Michael
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1920
Place of birth
Date of death	4 November 2004
Place of death