Zeev Kun (; 16 April 1930 – 20 June 2024) was an Israeli painter of Hungarian origin. He is the father of the artist Shay Kun.

Life

Zeev Kun was born in the city of

Nyíregyháza Nyíregyháza (, ) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in the Northern Great ...

in northeastern Hungary. As a teenager, he worked at an art supply store owned by his parents, Blanka and Sandor. After the deportation of

Hungarian Jews The history of the Jews in Hungary dates back to at least the Kingdom of Hungary, with some records even predating the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in 895 CE by over 600 years. Written sources prove that Jewish communities lived ...

began in March–April 1944, 14-year-old Zeev Kun was first sent to

Auschwitz concentration camp Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) d ...

, then to Jaworzno concentration camp, located 23 kilometers away from Auschwitz and used as its outer branch, and from January to April 1945 he was imprisoned at the camps of

Gross-Rosen Gross-Rosen was a network of Nazi concentration camps built and operated by Nazi Germany during World War II. The main camp was located in the German village of Gross-Rosen, now the modern-day Rogoźnica in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, d ...

Buchenwald Buchenwald (; 'beech forest') was a German Nazi concentration camp established on Ettersberg hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within the Altreich (Old Reich) territori ...

and Flossenbürg; on 23 April 1945, the prisoners of the camp Flossenbürg were freed by American troops. In late August 1945, Zeev Kun came back to Hungary, and with the Auschwitz concentration camp tattoo still visible on his arm, he resumed school. Later, he entered the ''Magyar Képzőművészeti Főiskola'' in Budapest (nowadays called

Hungarian University of Fine Arts The Hungarian University of Fine Arts ( Hungarian: , MKE) is the central Hungarian art school in Budapest, Andrássy Avenue. It was founded in 1871 as the Hungarian Royal Drawing School ''(Magyar Királyi Mintarajztanoda)'' and has been called ...

) in the fall of 1947, where he studied for over a year and a half. In 1949, as the new pro-communist political regime was growing more and more repressive, Zeev Kun joined a group of thirty Jews from the leftist Zionist organization "

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

" and managed to secretly cross the Czech border, and later he arrived to Italy via Austria. In the city of

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, the group boarded a ship that brought them to Israel. Once in Israel, Zeev Kun first settled at the kibbutz Givat-Haim near

Hadera Hadera (, ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon plain, Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5 mi) of ...

. He did not stay there for long, though, as in 1951 he became a student at the ''Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien'' Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, as the city had just witnessed the birth of the so-called

Vienna School of Fantastic Realism The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism () is a group of artists founded in Vienna in 1946. The group's name was coined in the 1950s by Johann Muskik, and the first exhibition was in 1959 at the Vienna Belvedere. This Austrian movement has similari ...

. Students and young professors of the academy sought to reflect upon the tragedy of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, still maintaining a dialog with the masters of

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and sciences ...

(such as

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

and

Pieter Bruegel the Elder Pieter Bruegel (also Brueghel or Breughel) the Elder ( , ; ; – 9 September 1569) was among the most significant artists of Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, a painter and printmaking, printmaker, known for his landscape art, landscape ...

), as well as the pioneers of

surrealism Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

of 1920s and 1930s, first of all

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

(1891–1976). At the academy, Zeev Kun was close to

Anton Lehmden Anton Lehmden (2 January 1929 – 7 August 2018) was an Austrian painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Lehmden was a co-founder, together with Ernst Fuchs, Maître Leherb (Helmut Leherb), Rudolf Hausner, Arik Brauer, Fritz Janschka and Wo ...

(born in 1929) and Ernst Fuchs (1930–2015). In his art, the latter focused on the images of Apocalypse, creating paintings shot through with dread and fear of death. It is no wonder that Zeev Kun, who himself survived the nightmare of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, was so overwhelmed by the works of Fuchs, who happened to be his peer. Upon his return to Israel, Zeev Kun joined the Israeli Painters and Sculptors Association. In 1973 he was awarded the Max Nordau Prize for Arts and in 2023 – the Moshe Castel Prize for the outstanding contribution to the Israeli art. His paintings have gained acclaim from art lovers in the Israeli non-Jewish sector, as well; they have been sold by their Alkara Art Gallery in

Daliyat al-Karmel Daliyat al-Karmel (, , "vineyards () of Carmel") is a Druze local council (Israel), town located on Mount Carmel in the Haifa District of Israel, around 20 km southeast of Haifa. In its population was 18,001. History In 1283 both ''Daliyat a ...

, Israel's largest Druze town. Kun died on 20 June 2024, at the age of 94.

Exhibitions and works

His perfectly mastered technique allowed him to accomplish a wide range of artistic goals, as he came up with philosophic and allegoric interpretations of the Holocaust and its ever-present memory, never to be overshadowed by the Jewish national revival in Israel and in a number of countries hosting Jewish diasporas. He exhibited in many Israeli cities (e.g.

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 ...

, 1954,

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 ...

, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 2014), and

Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...

(1988), as well as in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(1960),

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(1962, 1972, 1994),

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 ...

(1965),

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

(1967),

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

(1968),

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

(1968),

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

(1970),

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

(1972),

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

(1975),

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

(1976) and

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 ...

(1987). For many years, the painter worked in Safed, where he held his own gallery, but later he returned to Tel Aviv, where he lived until his death. Zeev Kun's works have been successfully sold by leading Israeli auction houses on many occasions, including "Tiroche", "Matsart", "Montefiore", "Egozi" and others. According to art critic professor G.Recanat, Zeev Kun's paintings have always been highly appreciated and valued by art collectors and art lovers.Zeev Kun. Peintures. Paris: Galerie Marigny, 1972.

References

External links

The Art of Zeev Kun (the painter's semi-official Web page)International famous artist Zeev Kun returns with a new exhibition: Brave New World. Press Release. Tel Aviv: David Art Gallery, April 21, 2014.
(in

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 ...

)
Invitation to the exhibition "Brave New World" by Zeev Kun, Prima Gallery, Tel Aviv, 16.01.2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kun, Zeev 1930 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Israeli painters 21st-century Israeli painters Israeli contemporary artists People from Nyíregyháza Hungarian Jews Auschwitz concentration camp survivors Flossenbürg concentration camp survivors Hungarian emigrants to Israel Fantastic art Fantastic realism Jewish painters Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni