Yakov Kaszemacher, Israeli Op Art Kabbala Mandala Abstract Oil Painting Judaica Jacob Kaszemacher, 1987

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Hand signed lower right Dated with Hebrew date 5747 (approximately 1987) Oil on Canvas Ya'acov Kaszemacher, well-known artist and photographer … Read more Hand signed lower right Dated with Hebrew date 5747 (approximately 1987) Oil on Canvas Ya'acov Kaszemacher, well-known artist and photographer whose unique images of Hassidic festivities are fascinating to view, and offer one an opportunity to peek into the community during its most joyous moments. Yaakov Kaszemacher was born in France to Jewish Polish refugees who raised him in a secular environment. He became involved with the beatniks of the ‘50s and then the hippies of the ‘60s, both in the nightclubs of St. Germain Des Pres in Paris and then in Bohemian Greenwich Village in New York. He embarked on a spiritual quest in 1971 and decided to live in Tzfat where he infused his artwork with Jewish, Hassidic and Kabbalistic content. Kaszemacher began to experiment with different art styles in the ‘50s and ‘60s. He varied his techniques and mediums but mostly favored bold colors and hard edges in an Op Art constructionist approach. After his religious awakening he continued to use these techniques to express mathematical and mystical themes. He saw his Kinetic art as a meditative support and created his works in a way that each design could include multi-layered religious significance. Kaszemacher’s works are often concretic or circular and are frequently used as a Kabbala mandala - mystical circles employed as visual stimulation for meditation. Kaszemacher was raised in Paris, and joined the beatnik artists of the '50s. He migrated to New York City in the '60s, where he easily melded with the counter-culture artists of the Greenwich Village. During his time in New York, his art flourished as he experimented with the psychedelic styles and special effects which were becoming popular. While in New York he also began to work with photography. Kaszemacher looked like an old-world Hassid, but his art remains pure 21st century. He was one of the first artists in Tzfat to combine his study of Kabbalah with his art, and many of his works have deep mystical meanings. Time magazine coined the term op art in 1964, in response to Julian Stanczak show Optical Paintings at the Martha Jackson Gallery, to mean a form of abstract art (specifically non-objective art) that uses optical illusions. Op art perhaps more closely derives from the constructivist practices of the Bauhaus founded by Walter Gropius, where Anni Albers and Josef Albers later taught. Op art also stems from trompe-l'œil and anamorphosis. Links with psychological research have also been made, particularly with Gestalt theory and psychophysiology. Op art or Kinetic Art is art based on movement represented by Yaacov Agam, Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesús Rafael Soto, Bridget Riley, Richard Anuszkiewicz and Nicolas Schöffer. From 1961 to 1968, the Groupe de Recherche d'Art Visuel (GRAV) founded by François Morellet, Julio Le Parc, Francisco Sobrino, Horacio Garcia Rossi, Yvaral, Joël Stein and Vera Molnár was also active. the Rene Denise Gallery in Paris actively showed and promoted many of these artists. See less