Avner Ben-Gal (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: אבנר בן-גל; August 26, 1966 – May 9, 2024) was an Israeli international painter and artist, working mainly from

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel. His works depict various intense, often neglected locations such as agricultural fields, prisons and smoky interiors, whereby theatrical scenes play out. The scenes present ghostly, rough hewn and often low life figures that are bare and hardened. The parallel between Ben-Gal's raw way of painting and his tough, ambiguous subject matter allows a unique intensity within his paintings.

Biography

Avner Ben-Gal was born on 26 August 1966. He studied Fine Art at

Bezalel Academy of Art and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design () is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldest institution of higher education and is considered the ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

in 1993. Ben-Gal was the subject of solo shows at museums such as the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2002, 2009); Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Basel, Switzerland (2008); and Sudden Poverty at the

Aspen Art Museum Founded in 1979, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is a non-collecting contemporary art museum located in Aspen, Colorado, United States. AAM exhibitions include drawings, paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations and electronic media. Building ...

, Colorado, United States (2007); and he has participated in various group shows, including DARK at the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, and as part of the

Venice Biennial The Venice Biennale ( ; ) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy. There are two main components of the festival, known as the Art Biennale () and the Venice Biennale of Architecture, Architecture Biennale (), ...

, 2003. A number of books have been published on his work, notably a catalogue to accompany his 2008 show in Basel. Ben-Gal was later represented by

Sadie Coles HQ Sadie Coles HQ is a contemporary art gallery in London, owned and directed by Sadie Coles. The gallery focuses on presenting the work of established and emerging international artists. It was at the forefront of the Young British Artists movemen ...

London, Bortolami Gallery, New York, CFA Gallery, Berlin and by Tempo Rubato gallery, Tel Aviv. He died from a heart attack on 9 May 2024, at the age of 57.

Prizes and awards

2001 Residency program at The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, New York (NY), USA 1998 Minister of Education and Cultural Prize, Israel 1996 Kollner award for excellent young artists, Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem, Israel 1993 Mary Fischer award for excellent young artists, Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem, Israel

Selected solo exhibitions

2013 * The Rover, CFA Gallery, Berlin 2012 * Sadie Coles HQ, London 2010 * Smackville, Bortolami, NY 2009 * Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel 2008 * Fabio Tiboni, Bologna, Italy * Sadie Coles HQ, London * Kunstmuseum Basel, Museum für Gegenwartskunst, Switzerland 2007 * Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, Colorado 2006 * Bortolami Dayan, New York 2005 * Sadie Coles HQ, London * Cursed By Slaves, Nouvelles Images Gallery, The Hague, Holland 2002 * Helena, The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion of Art, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel 2001 * The Eve of Destruction, Tal Esther Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel 1999 * New Army, Mary Fauzi Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel 1998 * Curly Drugs, the Artists’ Studios Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel 1997 * Design, Hamidrasha Academy of Art Gallery, Beit Berl, Israel 1995 * Avivit, the Israel Museum of Art, Jerusalem

Selected group exhibitions

2013 *“La figurazione inevitabile” per l'arte contemporanea Luigi Pecci, Prato, Italy * “Mythographies” , Yafo 23, Jerusalem 2012 *“Accelerating Toward Apocalypse: Works from the Doron Sebbag Art Collection”, Givon Art Forum, Tel Aviv, Israel 2011 *“The Museum Presents Itself: Israeli Art from the Museum Collection”, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel *“The Second Strike”, Hezliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Hezliya, Israel 2010 * Re-Dressing, Bortolami, NY * What Is Political, Bat - Yam Museum of art, Israel 2009 * Directions, A Palazzo Gallery, Brescia, Italy * History of Violence, Haifa Museum of Art, Israel 2008 * Penal Colony, Ein Harod Museum, Israel * SGOZZATA, Peres Projects, Berlin * Eventually We'll Die, Young art in Israel of the Nineties, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel 2007 * XXS (Extra Extra Small), Sommer Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, Israel 2006 * Infinite Painting: Contemporary Painting and Global Realism, Villa Manin Centre for Contemporary Art, Passariano, Codroipo (Udine), Italy * Dark, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Rotterdam, Holland * Through the looking glass, Galerie Bob van Orsouw, Zurich 2005 * A Wonderful View, Vous Etes Ici, Amsterdam * The New Hebrews, Martin Gropius-Bau, Berlin 2004 * Huts, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin * Painting 2004, Victoria Miro Gallery, London 2003 * Clandestine, the 50th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy 2001 * The Armory Show, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv * Israel Spunky, Exit Art, New York 2000 * Le Repubbliche Dell’Arte; the Israeli Season, Palazzo Delle Papesse, Sienna, Italy * Wish List: New Acquisitions, Israel Museum of Art, Jerusalem 1999 * Ladies and Gentlemen, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel 1998 * Video Program # 3: Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, Israel * The Lesser Light, Israel Museum of Art, Jerusalem * Spring at the end of the summer, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel * Ministry of Education and Culture Award Exhibition, Herzilya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, Israel 1994 * En Suite, Museum van Hedenaagse Kunst, Ghent, Belgium * Transit, ArtFocus 1, New Central Bus Station, Tel Aviv, Israel

References

External links

Kunstmuseum BaselBortolami Gallery, New YorkAvner Ben-Gal at the-artists.orgAvner Ben-Gal at artfacts.netExhibition at Victoria-Miro
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben-Gal, Avner 1966 births 2024 deaths Israeli male painters Israeli contemporary artists Artists from Tel Aviv