Zvi MairovichAbstract White Flowers Israeli Modernist Gouache and Watercolor Painting

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Zvi Mairovich (1911-1974) was one of the most important Israeli abstract painters. Born in Krosno Poland, he moved to Berlin … Read more Zvi Mairovich (1911-1974) was one of the most important Israeli abstract painters. Born in Krosno Poland, he moved to Berlin in 1929, studying painting with Karl Hofer at the Academy in Berlin. In 1934 he immigrated to Haifa, Israel. Titled: White Blooming
During the late fifties Mairovich painted landscape's and still life's which gradually transitioned to abstracts. By the late 50's, he produced dramatic gouache abstracts in large format. Mairovich's oils mainly focused on abstract landscapes, with stormy contrasts between darkness and flashes of light, verging upon the metaphysical. Using oil and gouache techniques he painted landscapes,still life's and female portraits.
In his later days, he created powerful abstract landscapes which are considered to be some of his best works in terms of technique. Mairovich belonged to the New Horizons group of Israeli artists. A group of artists who mounted an exhibition in Tel Aviv's Habima national theater in December 1942, under the name "the Group of Eight", But the group crystallized into the dominant artistic movement only after the founding of the state in 1948. Members of the school included Arie Aroch, Tzvi Mairovitch, Avraham Naton (Natanson), Avigdor Stematsky and Yehezkel Streichman. The work of sculptor Dov Feigin also appeared in the catalog of the 1942 exhibition, though it was not displayed. Members of the group stated that "The group is based in modernism, especially French, yet seeks a unique style that expresses our own reality".
the Tel Aviv Museum of Art opened the first exhibit bearing the movement's name. Among the artists showing were Pinchas Abramovich, Marcel Janco, Aharon Kahana, Yohanan Simon, Avshalom Okashi and Moshe Castel, as well as movement founders Zaritsky, Streichman and Feigin.
The group sought a style that reflected the striving for Zionism and Modernism. This style was a variant of European modernism. The style has been called "lyrical abstraction", Formats were generally rather small, and the style was similar to European abstract art before the second World War, akin to the art of Wassily Kandinsky, and unlike the abstract art prevalent in the United States at the time. Marcel Janco, of international fame for his involvement in the Dada movement in Europe in the 1930s, did not adopt this approach to abstraction; rather his art uses European Cubist and Expressionist styles to create a Jewish-Zionist narrative. Moshe Castel, also, went through a transformation during the 1950s from abstraction to expressionism characteristic of the Canaanite movement.
In the field of sculpture, the group introduced new media. Yechiel Shemi, Dov Feigin, and, after a sojourn in Britain, Itzhak Danziger, introduced welded steel as a new medium. This new form freed these artists from the figurative character of stone and wood carving, for a more purely abstract oeuvre. Here, too, however, there is frequent reference to the Canaanite figurativeness and symbolism.
Winner of the Dizengoff prize of 1942, 1951 and 1961. Mairovich has exhibited in important museums in Israel and in galleries all over the world.
He participated three times in the Sao Paolo Biennale in the Years 1953, 1958 and 1959 and also participated in the Venice Biennale in the years 1956 and 1962 and exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions in many respected establishments in Israel and around the world. He passed away in 1974.
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
1950: Gallery du Siècle, Paris
1956: Parma Gallery, New York
1961: Museum of Art, Haifa
1962: Santee Landweer Gallery, Amsterdam
1976: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1985: The Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art
1999: The Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art See less