Gideon Gechtman (; 17 December 1942 – 27 November 2008) was an Israeli

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

and

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 ...

. His art is most noted for holding a dialogue with

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

, often in relation with his own biography.

Biography

Gideon Gechtman was born on 17 December 1942 in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He moved to the British mandate of Palestine with his family in 1945. He studied at the

Avni Institute of Art and Design Avni Institute of Art and Design is an Israeli art school located in Tel Aviv. History The Studia school (later Avni Institute) was established in 1936De La Fuente S:Black and white in color" '' The Jerusalem Post'' 30 May 2007. Accessed 2008-11- ...

(1961–1962), Hammersmith College of Art (1968–1971), the Ealing School of Art, and

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

(1975–1976). After returning from London with his future wife singer/actress Bat-Sheva Zeisler, he created minimalistic art that was typical for that period. These works were described to "didactically demonstrate structural and figurative change in material and appearance." Gechtman taught at the

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 ...

(1972–1975) and the Art Teachers Training College of

Beit Berl Academic College Beit Berl College is a multi-disciplinary academic college for higher education located in Beit Berl in the Sharon region of Israel. It is one of the oldest colleges in Israel. The college grants undergraduate degrees (B.Ed and B.Ed.F.A.) and ...

(1971–2008). In 1973 Gechtman had his first solo exhibition in the Yodfat Gallery in

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 ...

. The exhibition, named "Exposure", signified Gechtman's increasing interest in the connection between art and the biographic dimension. On the walls of the gallery were enlarged photographs of the body shaving process before the open heart surgery that Gechtman underwent in 1973. Also in this exhibition were real and fabricated documents regarding Gechtman's medical condition. At the closure of the exhibition Gechtman put up obituaries for himself in Israeli dailies ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

'' and the ''

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Je ...

'', as well as around his home in

Rishon LeZion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

. Gechtman told later about the reactions: "Teachers from Bezalel said to me: 'Have you gone mad? You frightened everyone.'" The obituaries were a returning element in Gechtman's art for years to come. In 1999, he exhibited a remodelled hospital environment under the name Yotam, named after his son who had died. Gideon Gechtman died of heart failure on 27 November 2008. He was 65.Artist Gideon Gechtman passed away
''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'', or ''Arbit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or at night. It consists primarily of the evening '' Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two ...

'' 2008-11-28. Accessed 2008-11-28.

Gallery

File:Gideon Gechtman hasifa 005.jpg, Exposure, 1973
Installation view, Ydfat Fallery, Tel Aviv File:Gideon Gechtman brushes.jpg, Brushes (Bat-Sheva, Gideon and Yotam Gechtman), 1974
human hair, wood, copper plaques, glass File:Gideon Gechtman modaat evel 002.jpg, Obituary Notices, 1975
Bulletin board in Rishon LeZion File:Gideon Gechtman cart 1984.jpg, Cart, 1982-1984
wood, formica, iron, rubber, brass. base painting in superlac on plywood File:Gideon Gechtman at Neomi givon 1984 001.jpg, Obituaries, 1984
Installation view, Neomi Givon Gallery, Tel Aviv Image:Obituary Notice (white), 1984, superlac on plywood, 79.5X103.5 cm.jpg, Obituary Notice, 1984
superlac on plywood, 79.5x103.5 cm. File:Gideon Gechtman Hakibuz 1985 2.jpg, Mitot, 1985
Installation view, Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv File:Gideon Gechtman Preparation for Mausoleum No.jpg, Preparation for Mausoleum No.1, 1988
Installation view, Artists Studios Workshops, Jerusalem File:Gideon Gechtman vase 1992 3.JPG, Vase, 1992
Fiberglass and Paint
Ibn Gabirol Street, Tel Aviv File:Gideon Gechtman Echo 1992.jpg, Echo, 1995
Mix Media File:Gideon Gechtman hedva 1996.jpg, Chedva, 1995
Installation view, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv File:Gideon Gechtman Yotma 004.jpg, Yotam, 1999
Installation view, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art Image:B08_0165.jpg, Peacock, 1999

Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

Collection File:13 Obituary Notice, 2006, neon light on formica-coated plywood, silkscreen (blue).JPG, Neon obituary notice, 2006 File:Gideon Gechtman obituary orange.jpg, Orange obituary notice File:Launching Apparatus by Gideon Gechtman2.jpg, Launching Apparatus, 2008
Installation view, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv

Education

* 1961-62 Avni Institute, Tel Aviv * 1962-63 Ealing School of Art, London * 1968-70 Hammersmith College of Art, London * 1975-76 Tel Aviv University, philosophy and art history

Prizes

* 1970 –

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* 1989 – Ministry of Education Prize for Completion of Project * 1990 –

Histadrut Histadrut, fully the New General Workers' Federation () and until 1994 the General Federation of Labour in the Land of Israel (, ''HaHistadrut HaKlalit shel HaOvdim B'Eretz Yisrael''), is Israel's national trade union center and represents the m ...

Prize * 1993 – Minister of Science and Arts Prize for Creations in the Realm of Plastic Arts * 1995 –

Tel Aviv Museum of Art The Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art both from Israel and around the world. History The Tel Aviv ...

Prize * 1997 –

Israel Discount Bank Israel Discount Bank, Ltd. () is an Israeli banking institution that offers a range of financial services, including retail banking, commercial banking, private banking, and financial services. The bank, headquartered in Tel Aviv, operates 112 ...

Prize for an Israeli Artist,

, Jerusalem * 1999 – George and Janet Geffin Prize for Excellence in Plastic Arts,

America Israel Cultural Foundation The America-Israel Cultural Foundation (AICF) is a non-profit American foundation that supports cultural projects in Israel. History The America-Israel Cultural Foundation was established in 1939 to support the growth and development of a Jewish ...

* 2002 –

Haifa Haifa ( ; , ; ) is the List of cities in Israel, third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropolitan area i ...

Museum Award for Art for distinguished achievement in contemporary creative arts * 2006 – Ministry of culture prize for his life's work.

Solo exhibitions

* 1973 – ''Exposure'', Yodfat Gallery,

* 1984 – Givon Art Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1985 – ''Mitot'', Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1988 – ''Preparation for Mausoleum No.1'', Artists Studios,

* 1992 – ''Israel Echo'', Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1996 – ''Chedva'', Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1999 – ''Yotam'',

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; , / ) is an affluent List of Israeli cities, city in the Israeli coastal plain, central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it had a populatio ...

Museum of Art * 2001 – ''Etude'', Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv * 2001 – ''Infinite Regress'', Wiensowski & Harbord,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

* 2003 – ''Chedva, Gideon and all the Rest'', Artists House, Tel Aviv * 2003 – Haifa Museum of Art,

* 2007 – ''Initial Concept'',

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva (, ), also spelt Petah Tiqwa and known informally as Em HaMoshavot (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of the Old Y ...

Museum of Art * 2007 – ''Dead Line'', Beit Kanner Municipal Gallery,

Rishon Lezion Rishon LeZion ( , "First to Zion") is a city in Israel, located along the central Israeli coastal plain south of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Founded in 1882 by Jewish immigrants from the Russian Empire who were ...

* 2008 – ''Launching Apparatus'', Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv * 2012 – ''Butterflies & Pyramids'', Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv * 2013 –
Gideon Gechtman, 1942–2008
',

, Jerusalem

References

External links

* * *

Museums and galleries

Gideon Gechtman
at Chelouche Gallery *
Gideon Gechtman
at Petach Tikva Museum of Art

General art websites

Gideon Gechtman
at Artfacts.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gechtman, Gideon 1942 births 2008 deaths Egyptian emigrants to Israel Egyptian Jews Jewish Israeli artists Israeli photographers Jews from Mandatory Palestine Artists from Alexandria People from Rishon LeZion 20th-century Israeli sculptors 20th-century Israeli painters 21st-century Israeli sculptors 21st-century Israeli painters Academic staff of Beit Berl College