Amnon David Ar
Encyclopedia
Amnon David Ar born in 1973 in Herzliyah, Israel
, is a painter. He studied at the Arts and Crafts Municipal High School of Tel Aviv
until the age of eighteen. After completing his compulsory military service, he studied anatomy with Oswald Adler. He then spent one year at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, before leaving, because he felt that the both the training and the curriculum didn’t provide the skills and knowledge he was looking for. For this reason, Ar decided to organize his own studies, and spent a further year learning painting and drawing with Abraham Bykov. By studying with older artists, Ar has trained himself in a traditional way, and can, at least in part, be considered an autodidact. During his studies, Ar worked as a chief illustrator
and caricaturist at Maariv (newspaper) and also at Yedioth Tikshoret. Today, Ar also teaches painting and drawing, with the express intention of passing on to the next generation of artists, his experience, and with it his understanding of the artistic skills of the past.
says: “Ar loves the rich variety of forms in visual reality. Instead of hiding or improving its imperfections, he focuses on them with enthusiasm.”
Dr. Bob Van Den Boogert, Curator of the Rembrandt House Museum
in Amsterdam
, states: “Ar loves the rich variety of forms in visual reality and instead of hiding or improving its imperfections he focuses on them with an eagerness that recalls Rembrandt's predilection for 'picturesque' subjects ... The rendering of the human body still is an artistic speciality which - especially nowadays - only a few painters really master. Ar is definitely one of them: his female nudes are modelled so delicately, and the texture of their skin is rendered in such a convincing way, that they really come to life on the canvas.”
Dr Van Den Boogert continues: “Ar is one of the great draughtsmen of our time. He excels in rapid sketches, but also in extremely detailed studies, done in graphite and charcoal, or in white pencil on black paper. The expressive power and the plasticity of his drawings have such graphic qualities, that one wonders why he has not tried his skills on graphic art yet. But that may be one of his future projects: perhaps the best is yet to come.”
2009 Solo exhibition – The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel.
2009 Solo exhibition – The Association of Painters and Sculptors – Jerusalem Artists, Jerusalem, Israel.
2007 Exhibition & Catalog, Galerie Vieleers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2005 Drawings & Several Paintings, Exhibition & Catalog, Bernard Gallery, Tel Aviv.
2004 Amnon David Ar – Painting, Exhibition & Catalog, The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan.
'Group Exhibitions'
2010 ”collections”, Haifa Museum
2008 Time Tunnel, Exhibition & Catalog, Giv'atayim
Municipal Gallery
2007 The Fine Art of Drawing – Modern & Contemporary Works on Paper, Forum Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2006 Arkansas Art Center Collectors' Show
2006 New Faces, Forum Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2006 Realisme Amsterdam Fair
2005 Group exhibition, Exhibition & Catalog, The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan.
2005 Group Exhibition, The Jerusalem Center for the Performing Arts.
2002 Portraits, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
.
2000 Observation Time, Exhibition & Catalog, Janco Dada Museum
, Ein Hod.
1999 Group Exhibition, Bezalel, Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem.
1998 Group Exhibition, Bat Yam Art Museum.
'Awards'
2008 Winner of the first “Haim Shiff” competition, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, is a painter. He studied at the Arts and Crafts Municipal High School of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
until the age of eighteen. After completing his compulsory military service, he studied anatomy with Oswald Adler. He then spent one year at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, before leaving, because he felt that the both the training and the curriculum didn’t provide the skills and knowledge he was looking for. For this reason, Ar decided to organize his own studies, and spent a further year learning painting and drawing with Abraham Bykov. By studying with older artists, Ar has trained himself in a traditional way, and can, at least in part, be considered an autodidact. During his studies, Ar worked as a chief illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and caricaturist at Maariv (newspaper) and also at Yedioth Tikshoret. Today, Ar also teaches painting and drawing, with the express intention of passing on to the next generation of artists, his experience, and with it his understanding of the artistic skills of the past.
Artistic Style
Ar paints and draws his surrounds – both the people and everyday objects he finds around him in Tel Aviv. He does this, with a realist technique, often preferring to paint objects which are worn, rather than pristine. Robert Fishko, director of the Forum Gallery New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
says: “Ar loves the rich variety of forms in visual reality. Instead of hiding or improving its imperfections, he focuses on them with enthusiasm.”
Dr. Bob Van Den Boogert, Curator of the Rembrandt House Museum
Rembrandt House Museum
The Rembrandt House Museum is a house in Jodenbreestraat in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where Rembrandt lived and painted for a number of years. It is now a museum...
in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, states: “Ar loves the rich variety of forms in visual reality and instead of hiding or improving its imperfections he focuses on them with an eagerness that recalls Rembrandt's predilection for 'picturesque' subjects ... The rendering of the human body still is an artistic speciality which - especially nowadays - only a few painters really master. Ar is definitely one of them: his female nudes are modelled so delicately, and the texture of their skin is rendered in such a convincing way, that they really come to life on the canvas.”
Dr Van Den Boogert continues: “Ar is one of the great draughtsmen of our time. He excels in rapid sketches, but also in extremely detailed studies, done in graphite and charcoal, or in white pencil on black paper. The expressive power and the plasticity of his drawings have such graphic qualities, that one wonders why he has not tried his skills on graphic art yet. But that may be one of his future projects: perhaps the best is yet to come.”
Exhibitions and Awards
'Solo Exhibitions'2009 Solo exhibition – The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel.
2009 Solo exhibition – The Association of Painters and Sculptors – Jerusalem Artists, Jerusalem, Israel.
2007 Exhibition & Catalog, Galerie Vieleers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
2005 Drawings & Several Paintings, Exhibition & Catalog, Bernard Gallery, Tel Aviv.
2004 Amnon David Ar – Painting, Exhibition & Catalog, The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan.
'Group Exhibitions'
2010 ”collections”, Haifa Museum
Haifa Museum
The Haifa Museum of Art , established in 1951, is located in a historic building built in the 1930's in Wadi Nisnas, Downtown Haifa...
2008 Time Tunnel, Exhibition & Catalog, Giv'atayim
Giv'atayim
Giv'atayim is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the metropolitan area known as Gush Dan. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. It has a population of 53,000....
Municipal Gallery
2007 The Fine Art of Drawing – Modern & Contemporary Works on Paper, Forum Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2006 Arkansas Art Center Collectors' Show
2006 New Faces, Forum Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2006 Realisme Amsterdam Fair
2005 Group exhibition, Exhibition & Catalog, The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan.
2005 Group Exhibition, The Jerusalem Center for the Performing Arts.
2002 Portraits, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum of Art
The Tel Aviv Museum of Art is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. It was established in 1932 in a building that was the home of Tel Aviv's first mayor, Meir Dizengoff. The Helena Rubinstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art opened in 1959. The museum moved to its current location on King Saul Avenue in...
.
2000 Observation Time, Exhibition & Catalog, Janco Dada Museum
Janco Dada Museum
The Janco Dada Museum is located in Ein Hod, Israel. It is a museum that exhibits the work of Marcel Janco as well as art from the Dada movement and contemporary art too. The museum was established in 1983, by a group of Marcel Janco's friends, with the purpose of conserving the works and ideas of...
, Ein Hod.
1999 Group Exhibition, Bezalel, Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem.
1998 Group Exhibition, Bat Yam Art Museum.
'Awards'
2008 Winner of the first “Haim Shiff” competition, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv.
Further reading
- "Observation Time" Janco Dada Museum, Ein Hod, Israel, 2000
- "Amnon David Ar, Painting" The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan, Meir Ahronson, 2004
- "Amnon David Ar" Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Professor Mordechai Omer, 2009