David Ascalon ( he, דוד אשקלון; born March 8, 1945) is an Israeli contemporary

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and stained glass artist, and co-founder of Ascalon Studios.

Biography

Ascalon was born in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

, in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

(now

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

) on March 8, 1945. He received his early artistic training as an apprentice of his father, the Hungarian-born sculptor and industrial designer, Maurice Ascalon (1913–2003). Ascalon came to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

as a teenager when his father took the family across the Atlantic as a means to broaden their horizons. He attended

Beverly Hills High School Beverly Hills High School (usually abbreviated as Beverly or as BHHS) is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. The other public high school in Beverly Hills, Moreno High School, is a small alternative school located on B ...

in Beverly Hills, California and graduated in 1963. David studied art and design at the

California State University at Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge, Los Angeles, Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it h ...

as well as architecture and interior design at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, and Pratt Institute in New York, where he received his degree. Throughout the 1970s, Ascalon worked in the fields of

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordi ...

and architecture in New York, and for the firm of the noted Israeli architect Aryeh Elhanani in Tel Aviv. Seeking a more immediate means of artistic expression than the architectural arts would allow, he began experimenting in sculptural

metalwork Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scale ...

, exploring abstract compositions with a

welding torch Principle of burn cutting Oxy-fuel welding (commonly called oxyacetylene welding, oxy welding, or gas welding in the United States) and oxy-fuel cutting are processes that use fuel gases (or liquid fuels such as gasoline or petrol, diesel, ...

. He currently resides in the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and in the

Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one of ...

on the east end of Long Island, New York. In recent years, Ascalon has taken an active role on issues of artist rights advocacy, and in 2010 filed a federal suit under the

Visual Artists Rights Act The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA), ( title VI, ), is a United States law granting certain rights to artists. VARA was the first federal copyright legislation to grant protection to ''moral rights''. Under VARA, works of art that meet ce ...

(VARA) in a case involving the rights of artist with respect to the restoration of public sculpture. Among David's other relatives are his son, contemporary

industrial designer Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactu ...

Brad Ascalon Brad Ascalon (born in 1977), is an American industrial designer who grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor's degree at Rutgers University, and received a master's degree in industrial design from New Yo ...

, and older brother Adir Ascalon (d.2003). Adir was a surrealist painter and sculptor who collaborated with the noted Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros. David is also a licensed airplane

private pilot A private pilot licence (PPL) or, in the United States, a private pilot certificate, is a type of pilot licence that allows the holder to act as pilot in command of an aircraft privately (not for remuneration). The licence requirements are dete ...

Ascalon Studios

In 1977, David relocated to the

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

area where he joined up with his father to form Ascalon Studios. It was then that he began focusing his efforts on the creation of site-specific artwork for worship and public spaces. Much of his work draws on ecclesiastical themes, however utilizing non-traditional approaches and contemporary forms. In the years since its founding, Ascalon Studios, under David's direction, has executed hundreds of projects throughout North America, ranging from monumental sculptures and liturgical stained glass windows, to

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

murals. Many of his works adorn synagogue architecture and other venues for worship. Among his sculptural installations are a number of

Holocaust Memorial A number of organizations, museums and monuments are intended to serve as memorials to the Holocaust, the Nazi Final Solution, and its millions of victims. Memorials and museums listed by country: __NOTOC__ A - D: AlbaniaArgentinaAustraliaAustr ...

s that pay tribute to the victims of the atrocities (included are many from his own family).

Awards and Recognitions

David has been the recipient of major international design commissions and awards, including from the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...

' Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art and Architecture. He is a member of the

International Sculpture Center The International Sculpture Center is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1960 by Elden Tefft and James A. Sterritt at the University of Kansas. It is currently located on the old New Jersey Fairground in Hamilton, New Jersey Its goal is ...

, and he is past president of the American Guild of Judaic Art and has lectured on the subject of

Judaic Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...

art.

COVID-19 Response

In response to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

pandemic and shortages of

Personal Protective Equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, e ...

(PPE) for healthcare workers throughout the United States, in April 2020, David retooled the Ascalon Studios facility in order to produce hundred of specialty devices known as COVID-19 Intubation Safety Boxes for donation to American hospitals. The Safety Boxes, first used by healthcare workers in January 2020 when the pandemic hit Taiwan, are specialized acrylic cubes with flap-sealed hand holes that fit over the head and torso of infected patients, designed to allow doctors, nurses, and first responders the ability to undertake ventilator intubation and extubation while minimizing exposure to contaminated secretions emanated during the process.

Gallery

Image:David Ascalon - Stained Glass Window.jpg, From a series of abstract stained glass windows for Beth El Congregation near

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

. Image:David Ascalon, Ascalon Studios, Holocaust Memorial- Harrisburg, PA.jpg, David Ascalon's

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Memorial for the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

(1994), on the Susquehanna River,

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

Image:Totem par David Ascalon.jpg, David Ascalon's "Totem", fabricated bronze sculpture at the

Cherry Hill Public Library The Cherry Hill Public Library is a public library located at 1100 Kings Highway North in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The library is overseen by the Library Board of Trustees and run by The Library Director. Originally called ''The Cherry Hill Free ...

, Cherry Hill,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Image:David Ascalon Kinetic Sculpture Mobile memphis TN.JPG, "Wings to the Heavens" kinetic sculpture mobile by David Ascalon with

and Eric Ascalon, 2008,

Temple Israel (Memphis, Tennessee) Temple Israel is a Reform Jewish congregation in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. It is the only Reform synagogue in Memphis, the oldest and largest Jewish congregation in Tennessee, and one of the largest Reform congregations in the U.S ...

File:ASCALON STUDIOS, David Ascalon, Lincoln Square Synagogue Ark New York.jpg, Sanctuary ark for

Lincoln Square Synagogue The Lincoln Square Synagogue is a Modern Orthodox synagogue located at 180 Amsterdam Avenue between West 68th and 69th Streets in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1964, the physical location of the ...

, New York City (2013), by David Ascalon.

References

"100 Artists of the Mid-Atlantic"
by E. Ashley Rooney, Schiffer Books (2011) .

*"What is the Meaning of This", by Martha Lufkin, ''

The Art Newspaper ''The Art Newspaper'' is a monthly print publication, with daily updates online, founded in 1990 and based in London and New York City. It covers news of the visual arts as they are affected by international politics and economics, developments ...

'', October 2010 at 28.
"When Creator and Owner Clash", by Daniel Grant, ''The Wall Street Journal'', August 31, 2010.
ICO Publishers, Japan (2008). . *“Inside, Outside, Sculpture Shows Pieces of His Soul”, by Jan Hefler, ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', October 31, 2004. * Smithsonian American Art Museum Art Inventories Catalogue, Call Numbers: PA001671, PA001366, NY000754, 74780001, 747800003, 747800004, 74700005
"Out of the Box", by Haley Chouinard, ''Business of Home'', April 8, 2020.
*
"South Jersey Companies Team Up to Provide Free Intubation Boxes”, by Dave Isaac, ''Courier Post'', April 10, 2020.

External links

Ascalon Studios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascalon, David 1945 births Beverly Hills High School alumni Jewish Israeli artists Jewish sculptors American sculptors Israeli sculptors Modern sculptors American stained glass artists and manufacturers Pratt Institute alumni Israeli emigrants to the United States Israeli people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Living people People from Tel Aviv People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey