Michail Grobman (, ; born 1939) is an artist and a poet working in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He is father to Hollywood producer Lati Grobman and Israeli architect Yasha Jacob Grobman.

Life

Michail Grobman was born in 1939 in Moscow to an engineer's family. During his school years, he went by the pseudonym Michel Afinsky. In 1956–58, he studied at an evening school and worked as a mason at a construction site, where he began a friendship with the poet and dissident

Vladimir Gershuni Vladimir Lvovich Gershuni (, 18 March 1930, Moscow – 17 September 1994, Moscow) was a Soviet dissident and poet. He was a nephew of Grigory Gershuni, a founder of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. He grew up in Soviet children's homes. Childh ...

(1930–95), who influenced the formation of Grobman's political views. In 1957, at the exhibition of the 40th anniversary of Soviet art in the Central House of Art Workers, he was arrested. He was released the next day. In 1959, Grobman’s first solo exhibition took place at the Leningrad Vera Mukhina Higher School of Art and Design, and in 1965, at the House of Artists in Moscow, where Grobman’s works on Jewish themes were exhibited, which was an almost unbelievable event for that time. In 1965, he published a cycle of poems in the American literary almanac “Airways” under the pseudonym Mikhail Rusalkin. Later, this pseudonym was lost, and for the second time in this publication, Grobman was published as G.D.E. In 1967, he was admitted to the

Artists' Union of the USSR The Artists' Union of the USSR () was a creative union of the Soviet artists and art critics embracing the Republics of the Soviet Union. The Union was founded started in 1932 to supersede the AKhRR. The integral Union was instituted in 1957. B ...

. In 1971 he emigrated to Israel and lived in

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 1975, together with friends and students, he organized the group of Israeli artists "Leviathan", published the magazine of the same name. He has been living 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 ...

since 1983. Grobman's works are in the

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world. The gallery's history starts in 1856 when the Muscovite merchant Pavel ...

and the

Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (, abbreviated as , ''GMII'') is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. It is located in Volkhonka street, just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The International musical festival Sviatos ...

(Moscow), the

State Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (), formerly known as the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (), on Arts Square in Saint Petersburg, is the world's largest depository of Russian fine art. It is also one of the largest art museums in ...

(St. Petersburg), the

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 ...

, the

Ludwig Museum Museum Ludwig, located in Cologne, Germany, houses a collection of modern art. It includes works from Pop Art, Abstract and Surrealism, and has one of the largest Picasso collections in Europe. It holds many works by Andy Warhol and Roy Lic ...

in Cologne, the

Pompidou Centre The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

(Paris), etc., and in private collections in Israel, the USA, Germany and Russia.

Biography

* 1939 – Born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. * 1960s – Active member of The Second

Russian Avant-Garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

movement in the Soviet Union. * 1967 – Member of Moscow Artists Union. * 1971 – Emigrates to Israel and settles in

. * 1975 – Founded the Leviathan group and art periodical (in Russian). * Since 1983, he lives and works mainly in

Awards

* In 2001, Grobman was a co-recipient of the

Dizengoff Prize The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture is awarded annually by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality since 1937. The prize is named after Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv. According to the Tel Aviv municipality, the purpose of the pri ...

for Painting.

Solo exhibitions

* 2007 – Last Skies, Loushy & Peter Art & Projects, Tel Aviv (cat. text: Marc Scheps) * 2006 – Creation From Chaos to Cosmos, Bar-David Museum of Fine Art and Judaica, Kibbutz Baram (cat. text: Sorin Heller) * 2002 – The Last Sky, installation, Tsveta Zuzoritch pavilion, Belgrad (cat. text: Irina Subotitch) * 1999 – Michail Grobman: Works 1960–1998, The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg (cat. texts: Evgenija Petrova, Marc Scheps, Lola Kantor-Kazovsky, Michail German) * 1998 – Picture = Symbol + Concept, Herzliya Museum of Art, Herzliya (cat. texts: Lola Kantor-Kazovsky, Marina Genkina) * 1995 – Password and Image, University Gallery, Haifa University (Leaflet) * 1990 – Michail Grobman, Tova Osman Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1989 – Michail Grobman, Tova Osman Gallery, Tel Aviv * 1989 – The Beautiful Sixties in Moscow (Jointly with Ilia Kabakov), The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (cat. text: Mordechai Omer) * 1988 – Michail Grobman: Künstler und Sammler, Art Museum, Bochum, Germany (cat. text: Peter Spielmann) * 1987 – Messiah, installation and performance in the streets of Jerusalem (cat.) * 1985 – Khlebnikov 100, performance in the streets of Acre, Jerusalem, Tiberias and Tel-Aviv * 1984 – Michail Grobman, Zvi Noam Gallery, Beit Levik, Tel Aviv * 1977 – Michail Grobman, Spertus Museum, Chicago * 1977 – Performance in Judean desert * 1973 – Michail Grobman, Negev Museum, Beer Sheva * 1973 – Michail Grobman, Beth Uri and Rami Museum, Ashdot Yaacov (cat.) * 1972 – Michail Grobman, Nora Gallery, Jerusalem * 1971 – Michail Grobman: Paintings, Drawings, Prints, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (cat. text: Haim Gamzu) * 1966 – Michail Grobman, Projects Engineering Institute, Moscow * 1965 – Michail Grobman, Artists House, Moscow * 1965 – Michail Grobman, Energy Institute, Moscow * 1965 – Michail Grobman, History Institute, Moscow * 1965 – Michail Grobman, Usti-nad-Orlicy Theatre, Czechoslovakia (leaflet text: Dushan Konetchni) * 1959 – Michail Grobman, Mukhina Art Institute, Leningrad

Writing

* "Moscow Diaries", ''New Literary Observer'', vol. 84, 2007 – in Russian * Last Sky – Poems, ''New Literary Observer'', Moscow, 2006 – in Russian * "Poems and Articles", Symbol We: Jewish Anthology of Russian Literature, ''New Literary Observer'', Moscow, 2003 – in Russian * Leviathan: Diary 1963–1971, ''New Literary Observer'', Moscow, 2002– in Russian * "Leviathan. Manifestos", ''Zerkalo'', vol. 19–20, 2002 – in Russian * ''Military Notebooks – Poems'', Leviathan Publishers, Tel Aviv, 2002 – in Russian * "about Vladimir Jakovlev", Vladimir Jakovlev: Zivopis, Grafika, catalogue of the exhibition, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, 1995 * "The Enigma of Isaak Levitan", Isaak Levitan, 1860–1900: Sketches & Paintings, Exhibition Catalogue, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, 1991 * "About Malevich", Avant-Garde – Revolution – Avant-Garde: Russian Art from the Collection of Michail Grobman, Exhibition Catalogue, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, 1988 * "About Malevich", The Avant-Garde in Russia 1910–1930: New Perspectives, Exhibition Catalogue, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1980 * Leviathan, newspaper of modern art and literature, nos. 1–3 (1975–1980) – in Russian

Selected bibliography

* Valentin Vorobiov, Vrag Naroda. , ''New Literary Observer'', Moscow, 2005 * Irina Alpatova (ed.), , Galart, Moscow, 2005 * Matthew Baigel, "Soviet Artists, Jewish Imagery: Selections from The Norton and Nancy Dodge" * "Collection of Soviet Non-Conformist Art", ''Zimmerly Journal'', vol. 2, 2004 * "A-Ya: Unofficial Russian Art Review", ''Art Chronic'', Moscow, 2004 * Victor Pivovarov, Vlubleniy Agent, ''New Literary Observer'', Moscow, 2001 * Lidya Sooster, My Sooster, Avinarius, Tallinn, 2000 * Gunter Hirt, Sascha Wonders (Eds.), ''Präprintium, Moskauer Bücher aus dem Samizdat'' Edition Temmen, Bremen, 1998 * Alexander Goldstein, Rasstavanie s Nartsisom, ''New Literary Observer'', Moscow, 1997 * * "Interviews Michailom Grobmanom", Simurg, Jerusalem, 1997 * Marina Genkina, "Vtoroi Russkiy Avant-Garde", in ''Evrei v Kulture Russkogo Zarubezia'', vol. 5, Jerusalem, 1996 * Anna Zhuravleva, ''Vsevolod Nekrasov'', Paket, Moscow, 1996 * Michail Gorelik, "Russkij ili Russkojazytchnyy", ''Novoye Vremia'', vol. 43, 1996 * Victoria Motchalova, "Energia Voproshania", ''Inostrannaia Literatura'', vol. 2, February 1996 * Marc Scheps (ed.), ''The Art of the Twentieth Century: Lexicon'', Taschen, Cologne, 1996 * Andrey Voznesensky, "Kabalisticheskaia Expertiza", ''Obozrevatel'', vol. 12, December 1995 * Karl Eimermacher, Vladimir Jakovlev: ''Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen'' Bayer, Bissingen, 1995 * E. Beaucamp, "Die Kunst sucht ihre Zeit", ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', 22 July 1995 * Volfgang Kazak, "Konets Emigratsii", ''Znamia'', November 1994 * ''Rossijskaia Evreiskaia Entsiklopedia'', Rossijskaia Academia Nauk, Moscow, 1994 * Thomas Strauss, "Anschlag auf den Heiligenschein der Bilder", Magenta, Munchen, 1994 * V. Pavlov, "Popugay s Toporom", ''Iskusstvo'', January 1994 * * F. Raphael, "From the left Bank to the West Bank", ''Mirabella'' vol. 1, October 1990 * Thomas Strauss, "Bilder einer Gottessuche", ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'', 18 July 1988 * Michail Tchernyshov, ''Moskva 1961–67'', New York, 1988 * F. Rotzer, "Kunstlergruppen zeigen Gruppenkunst-werke", ''Kunstforum'', vol. 91, 1987 * Israel Shamir, ''Sosna i Oliva'', Wahlstorm Publishers, Jerusalem, 1987 * Velemir Chlebnikov, ''Stichi, Poemi, Proza, Gileia'', New York, 1986 * Alexander Glezer, ''Russian Artists in the West: Third Wave'', Jersey City, 1986 * Marina Genkina, "Michail Grobman", ''The Shorter Encyclopaedia Judaica in Russian'', vol. 3, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1986 * Stephen Feinstein, ''Soviet Jewish Artists in the USSR and Israel'', Armonk, New York & M. E. Sharpe, London, 1985 * * Rimma and Valery Gerlovin, "Russian Samyzhdat Books" ''Flue'', vol. 2, New York, Spring 1982 * Viktor Tupitsin, "Russian Art", ''Kolkhoz'', vol. 2, New York, 1982 * A. Rovner (ed.), ''Gnosis Anthology'', 2 vols, Gnosis Press, New York, 1982 * L. Bechtereva (Galina Manevich), ''Varianty Otrazenij'', A-Ya, Paris, 1982 * A.Volochonsky, "Leviathan v Belom Svete", Dvadtsat Dva, 15, Tel Aviv, November 1980 * * Frantishek Kincl (ed.), ''Schwarz auf Weiss'', vol. 6, Düsseldorf, August 1980 * * * Miriam Tal: "Magischer Symbolismus in Israel: Werk und Personlichkeit von Michail Grobman" ''Das Neue Israel'', vol. 3, Zurich, September 1974 * Yuri Kuperman, "No Places: The Jewish Outsiders in the Soviet Union", ''Soviet Jewish Affairs'', vol. 2, London, Summer 1973 * Miriam Tal, "Two Russian Artists", ''Israel Magazine'', vol. 11, November 1972 * Miriam Tal, "Les Arts en Israel", ''Liberté'', vol. 82–83, Montreal, October 1972 * Miriam Tal, "Painters from Soviet Russia", ''Ariel'', vol. 30, Spring 1972 * Reuven Berman, "Art out of Russia", ''The Jerusalem Post'', 24 December 1971 * J. Nicholson, "La Nouvelle gauche a Moscou: notes sur quelques autres", ''Chroniques de I'art vivant'', September 1971 * Arsen Pohridni, "I Clandestini del penello", ''Panorama 240'', Milano, 19 November 1970 * A. M. Fabian, "Russische Avantgarde heute", ''Madame und Elegante Welt'', Munchen, 1970 * Arsen Pohribny, "Art and Artists of the Underground", ''Problems of Communism'', Washington, March–April 1970 * Asiaticus (Arsen Pohribny), "I pittori del disegno", ''L'Espresso Colore'', Roma, 16 March 1970 * W. Schulze-Roempell, "Russische Avantgarde", ''Die Welt'', 27 February 1970 * G. Engels, "Moskaus Avantgarde herausgeschmug-gelt", ''Kolnische Rundschau'', 5 February 1970 * V. Vanslov (ed.), Sovetskoe Izobrazitelnoe Iskusstvo i Zadachi Borby S Burzhuaznoj Ideologiei, Izobrazitelnoe Iskusstvo, Moscow, 1969 * Dušan Konečny, Hledání Tvaru, ''Svei Sovetu'', Prague, 1968 * Jindřich Chalupecký, "Ouverture a Moscou", ''Opus International'', no. 4, London, 4 December 1967 * Miroslav Lamač, "Quelques jeunes peintres", ''Opus International'', no. 4, London, 4 December 1967 * Jindřich Chalupecký, "O Moderno Urneni v Sovetskern Svazu", ''Vytvarne Prace'', Prague, 21 September 1967 * Jiři Padrata, "Neue Kunst in Moskau", ''Das Kunstwerk'', vol. 7–8, Baden-Baden, April–May 1967 * Miroslav Lamač, "I giovani pittori di Mosca", ''La Biennale die Venezia'', vol. 62, Venezia, 1967 * Jiři Padrata, "Neue Kunst in Moskau", ''Kulturni Tvotba'', Prague, 5 January 1967 *