Avigdor Arikha Works from 1966-2010
Cover image: 17, Self-Portrait in a Blue Jacket (detail)
Avigdor Arikha – Works from 1966-2010
Avigdor Arikha (1929-2010) Photo of artist: EPA/Javier Lizon
Works from 1966-2010
Avigdor Arikha
9 October - 2 November 2013
Some works are for sale Prices upon application Marlborough Fine Art 6 Albemarle Street London W1S 4BY t: +44 (0) 20 7629 5161 e: mfa@marlboroughfineart.com www.marlboroughfineart.com
PREFACE Stephen Coppel
On 10 March 1965 Avigdor Arikha suddenly renounced abstraction and began to work from life. He entered what he called his period of ‘eight years of crisis’. From the late 1950s Arikha had enjoyed a growing international reputation as one of the most promising abstract painters of the second generation of existential modernists that had come to prominence in Paris after the Second World War. His work was sought by the leading contemporary dealers of the day, and in 1964 he was represented at the Venice Biennale in the Israeli pavilion. Yet, despite the tangible successes and critical acclaim, he questioned the direction his art had taken, sensing it was doomed to the repetition of certain inner forms and that it would ultimately become no more than a stylized mannerism. He was thirty-six years old and at an impasse in his career. As Arikha was later to admit: “When I was an abstract painter I thought I was the well... and I thought the well was bottomless. But of course it was all wrong. After seven years I hit rock. I felt that all the forms I was expressing were the same form, my form... I soon realised that there is only one thing that is not reachable, never knowable, truly infinite, and that is the world around us.” ¹ These ‘years of crisis’, from 1965 to 1973, saw Arikha engaged almost exclusively in graphic art in a wide range of media and in the intensive study of the history
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of art, particularly of drawing. He also renounced oil painting on canvas and the use of colour. Henceforth Arikha would only work from observation. He imposed upon himself a further restriction: the motif was to be executed from life entirely in one session. No revisions or subsequent reworkings or modifications were allowed. For Arikha these restraints were necessary if the subject was to express emotional force and intensity. Indeed, tension expressed by the work was regarded by him as essential to its expression of life. Arikha made it plain that the programme he had set himself was not a return to ‘representational’ or ‘figurative’ art but a move forward to post-abstract naturalism – a progression that could only have been developed out of the modernist achievements of abstraction, particularly by Mondrian. For Arikha the notion that his new departure might be labelled ‘representational’ or ‘figurative’ was erroneous; for him these terms implied ‘images’ and as such were only concerned with providing information of an external reality. Arikha instead saw his drawings and prints as communicating an intensity of feeling that was deeprooted and based on observed life. As he explained in 1978, five years after he had taken up oil painting again: “Painting from life, in its submission to observation, a given space and limited time, by restricted means, is a sort of seismic trace. It’s provisional, but intensive.” ² Arikha described this sudden seizure to register the life around him as a ‘hunger in the eye’.³ His decision coincided with the revelation of seeing Caravaggio’s painting The Raising of Lazarus in a recently opened exhibition of Caravaggio and seventeenth-century Italian paintings at the Louvre. What struck him was the realization
that Caravaggio worked entirely from life and not from memory or imagination. The figure of Lazarus suspended between life and death made a profound impact. While perhaps triggering memories of the drawings he had made of what he had seen as a young adolescent in the concentration camps at Mogilev, it more importantly confirmed to him the validity of working from life, which he had done instinctively in extremis, and the practice of which had lain dormant during his subsequent years as an abstract painter. He later described the exhilaration of this new-found freedom: “I had to unlearn what I had learned; I had to learn not to generalize, not to interpret, not to ‘’make art’’, but to hold, by the line, or brush stroke, what I see, through feeling.” 4
Notes 1. Tom Lubbock, ‘Avigdor Arikha: was here’, Modern Painters (summer 1994), p. 30. 2. Barbara Rose, ‘Avigdor Arikha interviewed’ in Arikha. Texts by Samuel Beckett, Richard Channin, André Fermigier, Robert Hughes, Jane Livingston and Barbara Rose. Interviews by Barbara Rose, Joseph Shannon and Maurice Tuchman, Paris and London 1985, p. 81. 3. Cited in Robert Hughes, ‘Arikha’s Elliptical Intensity’, Time, 30 July 1979, p. 71; reprinted in Arikha, texts by Beckett et al., Paris and London 1985, p. 114. 4. ‘Duncan Thomson talks to Avigdor Arikha’, Modern Painters, vol. 3 no. I (spring 1990), pp. 108-9; cited in Duncan Thomson, Arikha, London 1996, p. 45. 5. Avigdor Arikha, ‘On Abstraction in Painting’, in Avigdor Arikha, On Depiction: Selected writings on art 1965-94, London 1995, p. 205.
Arikha never denied the lessons he learnt from abstraction: a respect for the edges of the plate, sheet or canvas; an awareness of the flatness of the picture plane, and the formal elements of the composition. As Arikha later wrote in his important essay on abstraction: “Modernist abstraction permitted the liberation of painting from the literary misunderstanding, from the anecdote (that virus of the eye) and gave the illusion that the old mimesis had vanished into oblivion. But she didn’t. It permitted Mondrian to clean Vermeer’s room, and empty it of its content. Mondrian closed the door, but left the key behind.” 5 Adapted from Avigdor Arikha From Life – Drawings and Prints 1965-2005, with essays by Stephen Coppel and Duncan Thomson, London, British Museum Press, 2007. Published to accompany the exhibition at the British Museum from 29 June 2006 to 7 January 2007
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List of Works The following Estate number prefixes denote media: AAP – Paintings (Oil on canvas) AAPA – Pastels AAW –Watercolours AAD – Drawings AAPR – Prints
PAINTINGS 1 Still-Life with Glass of Water, 1974 46 x 27 cm / 181/8 x 105/8 in signed lower centre, dated on reverse 2 I 74 AAP 027 2 Anne’s White Coat, 1975 146 x 114 cm / 571/2 x 447/8 in signed and dated lower left, dated on reverse I VI 75, entitled and dated on stretcher AAP 038 3 Self-Portrait in a White Turtle-neck, 1975 46 x 38 cm / 181/8 x 15 in signed and dated upper centre, dated on reverse 19 20 XII 75 AAP 039 4 Anne Oblique, 1978 46 x 46 cm / 181/8 x 181/8 in signed and dated lower right, dated on reverse 22 XI 78 AAP 045 5 Two Eggs, 1974 46 x 38 cm / 181/8 x 15 in signed lower left, dated on reverse 7 VII 74 AAP 033
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6 The Reflection in the Window, 1979 38 x 55 cm / 15 x 215/8 in signed and dated lower centre AAP 051 7 Mount Zion Crest, 1981 33 x 65 cm / 13 x 255/8 in signed lower left, dated on reverse I3 VIII 81, entitled on stretcher AAP 062 8 Bachivillers, March, 1979 38 x 65 cm / 15 x 255/8 in signed and dated lower left, entitled and dated on reverse AAP 048 9 Pair of Gloves on a Chair, 2008 46 x 38 cm / 181/8 x 15 in signed lower left, dated on reverse I4 IX 08 AAP 110 10 Waiting, 1985 92 x 73 cm / 361/4 x 283/4 in signed and dated lower left, dated on reverse I2 II 85 AAP 072 11 Still-Life with Blue Napkin, 1985 63.5 x 45.5 cm / 25 x 177/8 in signed lower right, dated on reverse 5 X 85 AAP 074 12 The Chair in the Studio (Square de Port Royal), 2006 116 x 89 cm / 455/8 x 35 in signed upper left, dated on reverse I IX 06 AAP 107
PASTELS 13 Grapes on a Dish, 1997 23.7 x 31 cm / 93/8 x 121/4 in signed lower right, dated lower left 2I III 97 AAPA 052 14 Green and White Gloves, 2008 22 x 35.2 cm / 85/8 x 137/8 in signed lower left, dated lower right I7 08 08 AAPA 063
20 Self-Portrait in a Blue Shirt, Hand on Chin, 1988 31 x 45.8 cm / 121/4 x 18 in signed and dated lower right AAPA 026 21 Self-Portrait in a White Vest, 1987 65 x 50 cm / 255/8 x 193/4 in signed upper left, dated upper right 24 V 87 APPA 021
WATERCOLOURS
15 Buds, 1983 65.3 x 29.5 cm / 253/4 x 115/8 in signed and dated lower left AAPA 004
22 Spoon, 1975 15.8 x 9.5 cm / 61/4 x 33/4 in signed and dated lower right AAW 006
16 Two Roses, 1995 32.5 x 25.3 cm / 123/4 x 10 in signed lower right, dated lower left II XII 95 AAPA 051
23 Tube of Paint, 1975 13.5 x 20 cm / 51/4 x 77/8 in signed and dated lower centre AAW 002
17 Self-Portrait in a Blue Jacket, 1993 88 x 65 cm / 345/8 x 255/8 in signed lower right, dated lower left 5 I 93 APPA 048 18 Seated Nude on Brown Background, 1986 45.3 x 32.3 cm / 177/8 x 123/4 in signed and dated upper left AAPA 019 19 Orange Sweater on a Chair, 1991 67 x 51.5 cm / 263/8 x 201/4 in signed lower right, dated lower left 7 VI 91 AAPA 045
24 Knife, Bread and Chavignol Cheese, 1979 21.7 x 26.5 cm / 81/2 x 103/8 in signed and dated lower left AAW 022 25 Hand, 1976 13.9 x 15.3 cm / 51/2 x 6 in signed and dated lower right AAW 014 26 Two Oranges, 1987 25.4 x 35.5 cm / 10 x 14 in signed and dated lower left AAW 031 27 Cypresses, Jerusalem, 1990 25.4 x 17.6 cm / 10 x 67/8 in signed lower right, dated lower left 3 VIII 90 AAW 039
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28 Garden, Jerusalem, 1990 25.4 x 17.7 cm / 10 x 7 in signed lower left, dated lower right 5 VIII 90 AAW 041
DRAWINGS 29 Bread and Knife, 1973 Sumi ink on paper 30 x 39.5 cm / 113/4 x 151/2 in signed upper right, dated lower centre I5 II 73 AAD 1185 30 Telephone, 1967 Sumi ink on paper 13 x 16.2 cm / 51/8 x 63/8 in signed upper right, dated upper left I0 IV 67 AAD 1120 31 Pine Cones, 1977 Sumi ink on paper 18 x 24 cm / 71/8 x 91/2 in signed lower left, dated lower right I9 XI 77 AAD 1219 32 Bags and Chair, 1972 Sumi ink on paper 32 x 24 cm / 125/8 x 91/2 in signed lower right, dated upper right 2 XII 72 AAD 1181 33 Rooftops (Square de Port Royal), 2004 Sumi ink on paper 26 x 49 cm / 101/4 x 191/4 in signed lower left, dated upper left I7 V 04 AAD 1473
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34 Standing Nude with Arms Crossed, 1991 Graphite on paper 84 x 27.5 cm / 331/8 x 107/8 in signed lower right, dated lower left I3 III 91 AAD 0219 35 Standing Nude, 1986 Graphite on paper 97 x 66 cm / 381/8 x 26 in signed lower left, dated upper left I3 VI 86 AAD 0126 36 Noga Seated in the Library, 1999 Graphite on paper 64.5 x 63.5 cm / 253/8 x 25 in signed lower right, dated lower left 23 XI 99 AAD 0296 37 Anne Seated, Reading, 2004 Graphite on paper 68 x 51.5 cm / 263/4 x 201/4 in signed upper left, dated lower left 25 IX 04 AAD 0324 38 Self-Portrait, Drawing, 2007 Graphite on paper 34 x 25 cm / 133/8 x 97/8 in signed lower right, dated upper right 20 I 07 AAD 0365 39 Study of Left Hand, 2010 Graphite on paper 25.4 x 34 cm / 10 x 133/8 in signed lower centre, dated upper centre 25 I I0 AAD 0441
40 Self-Portrait, Standing, 1991 Graphite on paper 97 x 63.5 cm / 381/8 x 25 in signed lower right, dated lower left I5 III 91 AAD 0221
PRINTS 41 Anne Sleeping on her Elbow, 1966 Etching 27.6 x 34.9 cm (107/8 x 133/4 in) paper size 6.8 x 9.8 cm (25/8 x 37/8 in) plate size signed and dated lower right, numbered 1/1 AAPR 043 42 Anne Reading, Legs Crossed, 1966 Etching 37.9 x 28 cm (147/8 x 11 in) paper size 17.8 x 12.6 cm (7 x 5 in) plate size signed and dated lower right, numbered 5/5 AAPR 044 43 Samuel Beckett, 1968 Etching 25 x 19 cm (97/8 x 7½ in) paper size 7.4 x 6.8 cm (27/8 x 25/8 in) plate size signed lower right, dated lower left, numbered 4/32 AAPR 056 44 Self-Portrait, in Spanish Mirror, 1970 Etching and aquatint 32.3 x 37.5 cm (123/4 x 143/4 in) paper size 23.8 x 29.5 cm (93/8 x 115/8 in) plate size signed and dated lower right, numbered 2/13 AAPR 062 45 Two Roses, 1970 Etching 33.3 x 26.3 cm (131/8 x 103/8 in) paper size 21.8 x 15.8 cm (85/8 x 61/4 in) plate size signed lower right and inscribed ‘Unique’ AAPR 075
46 Self-Portrait, Front and Back, Reflected in Two Mirrors, 1971 Etching 37.2 x 26.2 cm (145/8 x 103/8 in) paper size 24.7 x 19.6 cm (93/4 x 73/4 in) plate size signed lower right and numbered 3/10 AAPR 097 47 Self-Portrait Drawing, from the Back, 1972 Etching 32 x 32.2 cm (125/8 x 125/8 in) paper size 20.2 x 25 cm (8 x 97/8 in) plate size signed lower right and numbered 2/13 AAPR 117 48 Herbs,1973 Sugar aquatint 39.2 x 33.8 cm (153/8 x 131/4 in) paper size 27 x 24 cm (105/8 x 91/2 in) plate size signed and dated lower right, inscribed ‘Trial proof ’ lower left AAPR 136 49 Work Shirt, 1973 Etching 40.8 x 37.4 cm (16 x 143/4 in) paper size 26.7 x 24.5 cm (101/2 x 95/8 in) plate size signed and dated lower right, inscribed ‘State proof II’ 2/2 lower left AAPR 139 50 Self-Portrait with Open Mouth, 1973 Etching 47 x 33.2 cm (181/2 x 13 in) paper size 27.2 x 24.1 cm (103/4 x 91/2 in) plate size signed lower right, dated upper centre and numbered 17/20 AAPR 162 51 The Egg, 1975 Etching 24.4 x 31.7 cm (95/8 x 121/2 in) paper size 8.9 x 11.9 cm (31/2 x 45/8 in) plate size signed and dated lower right, inscribed ‘Unique’ AAPR 175
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PAINTINGS
1 Still-Life with Glass of Water, 1974 46 x 27 cm / 181/8 x 105/8 in 2 Anne’s White Coat, 1975 146 x 114 cm / 571/2 x 447/8 in
3 Self-Portrait in a White Turtle-neck, 1975 46 x 38 cm / 181/8 x 15 in 4 Anne Oblique, 1978 46 x 46 cm / 181/8 x 181/8 in
5 Two Eggs, 1974 46 x 38 cm / 181/8 x 15 in 6 The Reflection in the Window, 1979 38 x 55 cm / 15 x 215/8 in
7 Mount Zion Crest, 1981 33 x 65 cm / 13 x 255/8 in 8 Bachivillers, March, 1979 38 x 65 cm / 15 x 255/8 in
9 Pair of Gloves on a Chair, 2008 46 x 38 cm / 181/8 x 15 in 10 Waiting, 1985 92 x 73 cm / 361/4 x 283/4 in
11 Still-Life with Blue Napkin, 1985 63.5 x 45.5 cm / 25 x 177/8 in 12 The Chair in the Studio (Square de Port Royal), 2006 116 x 89 cm / 455/8 x 35 in
PASTELS
13 Grapes on a Dish, 1997 23.7 x 31 cm / 93/8 x 121/4 in 14 Green and White Gloves, 2008 22 x 35.2 cm / 85/8 x 137/8 in 15 Buds, 1983 65.3 x 29.5 cm / 253/4 x 115/8 in
16 Two Roses, 1995 32.5 x 25.3 cm / 123/4 x 10 in 17 Self-Portrait in a Blue Jacket, 1993 88 x 65 cm / 345/8 x 255/8 in
18 Seated Nude on Brown Background, 1986 45.3 x 32.3 cm / 177/8 x 123/4 in 19 Orange Sweater on a Chair, 1991 67 x 51.5 cm / 263/8 x 201/4 in
20 Self-Portrait in a Blue Shirt, Hand on Chin, 1988 31 x 45.8 cm / 121/4 x 18 in 21 Self-Portrait in a White Vest, 1987 65 x 50 cm / 255/8 x 193/4 in
WATERCOLOURS
22 Spoon, 1975 15.8 x 9.5 cm / 61/4 x 33/4 in 23 Tube of Paint, 1975 13.5 x 20 cm / 51/4 x 77/8 in 24 Knife, Bread and Chavignol Cheese, 1979 21.7 x 26.5 cm / 81/2 x 103/8 in
25 Hand, 1976 13.9 x 15.3 cm / 51/2 x 6 in 26 Two Oranges, 1987 25.4 x 35.5 cm / 10 x 14 in
27 Cypresses, Jerusalem, 1990 25.4 x 17.6 cm / 10 x 67/8 in 28 Garden, Jerusalem, 1990 25.4 x 17.7 cm / 10 x 7 in
DRAWINGS
29 Bread and Knife, 1973 Sumi ink on paper 30 x 39.5 cm / 113/4 x 151/2 in 30 Telephone, 1967 Sumi ink on paper 13 x 16.2 cm / 51/8 x 63/8 in 31 Pine Cones, 1977 Sumi ink on paper 18 x 24 cm / 71/8 x 91/2 in
32 Bags and Chair, 1972 Sumi ink on paper 32 x 24 cm / 125/8 x 91/2 in 33 Rooftops (Square de Port Royal), 2004 Sumi ink on paper 26 x 49 cm / 101/4 x 191/4 in
34 Standing Nude with Arms Crossed, 1991 Graphite on paper 84 x 27.5 cm / 331/8 x 107/8 in 35 Standing Nude, 1986 Graphite on paper 97 x 66 cm / 381/8 x 26 in
36 Noga Seated in the Library, 1999 Graphite on paper 64.5 x 63.5 cm / 253/8 x 25 in 37 Anne Seated, Reading, 2004 Graphite on paper 68 x 51.5 cm / 263/4 x 201/4 in
38 Self-Portrait, Drawing, 2007 Graphite on paper 34 x 25 cm / 133/8 x 97/8 in 39 Study of Left Hand, 2010 Graphite on paper 25.4 x 34 cm / 10 x 133/8 in 40 Self-Portrait, Standing, 1991 Graphite on paper 97 x 63.5 cm / 381/8 x 25 in
PRINTS
41 Anne Sleeping on her Elbow, 1966 Etching 27.6 x 34.9 cm (107/8 x 133/4 in) paper size 6.8 x 9.8 cm (25/8 x 37/8 in) plate size 42 Anne Reading, Legs Crossed, 1966 Etching 37.9 x 28 cm (147/8 x 11 in) paper size 17.8 x 12.6 cm (7 x 5 in) plate size
43 Samuel Beckett, 1968 Etching 25 x 19 cm (97/8 x 7½ in) paper size 7.4 x 6.8 cm (27/8 x 25/8 in) plate size 44 Self-Portrait, in Spanish Mirror, 1970 Etching and aquatint 32.3 x 37.5 cm (123/4 x 143/4 in) paper size 23.8 x 29.5 cm (93/8 x 115/8 in) plate size
45 Two Roses, 1970 Etching 33.3 x 26.3 cm (131/8 x 103/8 in) paper size 21.8 x 15.8 cm (85/8 x 61/4 in) plate size 46 Self-Portrait, Front and Back, Reflected in Two Mirrors, 1971 Etching 37.2 x 26.2 cm (145/8 x 103/8 in) paper size 24.7 x 19.6 cm (93/4 x 73/4 in) plate size
47 Self-Portrait Drawing, from the Back, 1972 Etching 32 x 32.2 cm (125/8 x 125/8 in) paper size 20.2 x 25 cm (8 x 97/8 in) plate size 48 Herbs,1973 Sugar aquatint 39.2 x 33.8 cm (153/8 x 131/4 in) paper size 27 x 24 cm (105/8 x 91/2 in) plate size 49 Work Shirt, 1973 Etching 40.8 x 37.4 cm (16 x 143/4 in) paper size 26.7 x 24.5 cm (101/2 x 95/8 in) plate size
50 Self-Portrait with Open Mouth, 1973 Etching 47 x 33.2 cm (181/2 x 13 in) paper size 27.2 x 24.1 cm (103/4 x 91/2 in) plate size 51 The Egg, 1975 Etching 24.4 x 31.7 cm (95/8 x 121/2 in) paper size 8.9 x 11.9 cm (31/2 x 45/8 in) plate size
BIOGRAPHY
Solo Exhibitions 1952 tel aviv, Galeria Zeira, Paintings and Drawings, no catalogue 1953 jerusalem, Artists’ House, Paintings, Drawings, Illustrations, 3–24 January 1953, Paintings, Drawings, Illustrations, foreword by Binyamin Tammuz, Hebrew and English, brochure 8pp. jerusalem, The National Museum Bezalel, Paintings, Drawings, Woodcuts, 5–22 September 1953, Peintures, Dessins, Bois, foreword by Mordechai Narkiss, Hebrew and French, folder 1954 stockholm, Galerie Moderne, Paintings and Drawings, 24 April–7 May 1954, checklist, Swedish, folder 1955 copenhagen, Athenæum Kunsthandel, Paintings, Drawings, BookIllustrations, 1–15 September 1955, Tegninger, grafik og bogkunst introduction Peter P. Rohde, Danish, folder, 1 repr. (cover) paris, Galerie Furstenberg, Paintings and Drawings, 4–17 October 1955, no catalogue 1956 london, Matthiesen Gallery, Paintings and Drawings, ‘First London Exhibition’, 5–28 April 1956, folder 1957 paris, Galerie Furstenberg, Paintings, 2–16 April 1957, Peintures récentes, text by Jean Wahl, folder 1959 london, Matthiesen Gallery, Paintings, Gouaches, Drawings, 8 April–2 May 1959, Paintings, gouaches, drawings, with a poem (French) by Samuel Beckett, brochure, 8 p. 1 col. repr., cover 1960 amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Paintings, Gouaches, Watercolours, October–November 1960, catalogue no. 248 (joint with Panter), Dutch, foreword by W. Sandberg, brochure 12pp. 7 b&w 1 col. repr. 1961 paris, Galerie Karl Flinker, Paintings, Gouaches, Watercolours, Drawings, 11 October–4 November 1961, 1 col. repr. (cover) 2 b&w repr. (untitled brochure) 1966 jerusalem, Israel Museum, Paintings 1963–66 and Drawings 1947– 1966, September–October 1966, introduction by Yona Fischer, Hebrew and English, 12pp. 4 b&w repr. (brochure)
1967 paris, Galerie Claude Bernard, Arikha – dessins, January–February 1967, announcement, with the text ‘Pour Avigdor Arikha’ by Samuel Beckett, 26 January 1967, no catalogue 1970 paris, Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Drawings 1965–70, Dessins 1965–1970, 8 December 1970–18 January 1971, foreword by Samuel Beckett, introduction by Barbara Rose, and two texts by the artist, 64pp. 42 repr. Supplementary checklist 8pp. 1972 tel aviv, Gordon Gallery, 8 Paintings, 10 February– 1 March 1972, folder, no catalogue los angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Drawings 1965–72, art, 39 ink drawings, 25 April–28 May 1972 (extended to 31 July), with a text by Samuel Beckett, introduction Barbara Rose and a presentation note by Maurice Tuchman, 1 repr. (cover), folder new york, Marlborough Gallery, December 1972, foreword by Samuel Beckett, introduction by Barbara Rose, 1 repr. 8 p. folder 1973 syracuse, ny, Everson Museum, Ink drawings 1965–1972, February 1973, foreword by Samuel Beckett, introduction by Barbara Rose, 1 repr. 8 p. folder fort worth, Texas, Fort Worth Art Center Museum, Ink drawings 1965–1972, April–May 1973, foreword by Samuel Beckett, introduction by Barbara Rose, 1 repr. 8pp. folder tel aviv, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Paintings: 1957–1965 and 1968 (retrospective of the abstract period), introduction by Haim Gamzu, 28pp. 12 b&w repr., brochure, Hebrew and English 1974 houston, Texas, Janie C. Lee Gallery, Inks, Drawings and Prints, 6 December 1974–16 January 1974, announcement, poster, no catalogue london, Marlborough Fine Art, Drawings, Inks and Etchings, March 1974, introduction by Robert Hughes, 30pp. 64 repr. (mostly vignette) 1974–79 paris, cnac – mnam Centre Georges Pompidou, circulating exhibition of Prints, 39 gravures 1970–73, catalogue (later increased number of prints from 1974–1979), with an introduction by André Fermigier, and interview with Germain Viatte, 8p. 40 repr. (vignettes), brochure.1974: boulogne-sur-mer, Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie; saintquentin-en-yvelines, Chapelle de la Villedieu; 1975: le mans, Musée Tessé; nice, Ecole Internationale d’Art Décoratif; dole, Maison des Jeunes et de Culture; 1976: mitry-mory, Municipalité; brive-lagaillarde, Foyer Culturel; saint-cloud, mjc; annecy, mjc; mandelieu-la-napoule, mjc; verberie, mjc; bordeaux, Renaissance du Vieux Bordeaux; 1977: mougins, Maison pour Tous;
saumur, Bibliothèque Municipale; tourcoing, Ecole des Beaux-Arts; vieux condé, Lycée Technique; gennevilliers, Société Creusot-Loire; gérardmer, mjc; chamonix, Bibliothèque Municipale; bastia, Musée d’Ethnographie Corse; 1978: grasse, Fédération Régionale des mjc; sorgues, Comité d’Animation de la Bibliothèque; compiègne, Lycée Pierre d’Andilly; castres, Musée Goya; lyon, Espace Lyonnais d’Art Contemporain; mussidan, Amicale Laïque; evry, Bibliothèque de l’Agora; 1979: cologne, Institut Français; aachen, Institut Français; essen, Institut Français; grenoble, Bibliothèque Municipale 1975 paris, Cabinet des Estampes, Bibliothèque Nationale, Prints, Spring 1975, no catalogue, see Nouvelles de l’Estampe no.20, March–April 1975 new york, Marlborough Gallery, Paintings and watercolors 1973–1975, 1 October–1 November 1975 (first showing of the life-paintings) with a text by the artist, 24pp. 13 b&w repr. 6 col. 1976 london, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Samuel Beckett by Avigdor Arikha, 11 February–23 May 1976, foreword by C. M. Kauffmann, introduction and catalogue by Mordechai Omer, 12pp. 16 repr., brochure 1977 zurich, Marlborough Galerie, Paintings, Watercolours and Drawings, Ölbilder, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, April–May 1977, foreword by Samuel Beckett, 20pp. 9 b&w 2 col. repr. zurich, Galerie Amstutz, Prints, reproduction of the facsimile catalogue published by the Atelier Crommelynck, Paris, 1977, Avigdor Arikha Huit Gravures, Paris 1977 (collotype 500 copies), with additional German captions, brochure 12pp. 1978 london, Marlborough Fine Art, Oil paintings – Watercolours – Drawings, May–June 1978, interview with Barbara Rose, 20pp. 9 b&w 6 col. repr. edinburgh, New 57 Gallery, Paintings Drawings Watercolours, 14 August–9 September 1978, foreword by Samuel Beckett, 16pp. 9 b&w 3 col. repr. 1979 houston, Texas, Janie C. Lee Gallery, Drawings, Watercolors and Paintings, February–March 1979, introduction: interview with Barbara Rose, 16pp. 5 col 2 b&w repr. (brochure) washington, The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Twenty Two Paintings 1974–78, 15 June–26 August 1979, introduction by Jane Livingston, 40pp. 18 b&w 4 col. repr. paris, fiac Marlborough stand, Avigdor Arikha Peintures et aquarelles, 18–27 October 1979, no catalogue, folder 1 repr. (col)
1980 paris, Galerie Berggruen, Dessins et gravures, 29 May– 12 September 1980, with a text by the artist, 98pp. 80 repr. new york, Marlborough Gallery, Recent work, 4 October–1 November 1980, 44pp. 5 col. 32 b&w repr. 1981 dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Arikha, 29 March–28 June 1981, introduction by Pierre Georgel, 60pp. 107 b&w repr. (mostly vignette) 1982 london, Marlborough Fine Art, Oil paintings and drawings, May–June 1982, 48pp. 9 col. 33 b&w repr. 1983 new york, Marlborough Gallery, Paintings, drawings and pastels, 8 September–4 October 1983, 14 col. 28 b&w repr. 1984 new york, Marlborough Gallery, New York Drawings – January–May 1984, 8 November–4 December 1984, introduction by Jane Livingston, 36pp. 36 repr. 1985 new york, Marlborough Gallery, Recent paintings, 29 May–22 June 1985, 30pp. 15 col. 10 b&w repr. 1986 tel aviv, Tel Aviv University Gallery, Prints 1950–1985, January–February 1986, introduction by Mordechai Omer, reprint of 1974 Robert Hughes introduction, and of ‘Avigdor Arikha interviewed by Barbara Rose’. (Second corrected limited reprint) 144pp. 110 repr. Book london, Marlborough Fine Art, Oil paintings, pastels and drawings, October 1986, pp.48 18 col. 25 b&w repr. 1987 venice, california, L.A. Louver Gallery, 7 April–9 May 1987, with excerpts from texts by Samuel Beckett, Robert Hughes, Barbara Rose, Maurice Tuchman, (two pages errata), 32pp. 13 col. 8 b&w repr. 1988 tokyo, Marlborough Fine Art, Oils, watercolours, pastels, inks and drawings, 19 April–31 May 1988, introduction by Shûji Takashina, 50pp. 25 col. 7 b&w repr. Japanese & English new york, Marlborough Gallery, Paintings, pastels and drawings 1986– 1988, October 1988, with a text by the artist, 48pp. 29 col. 10 b&w repr. 1990 london, Marlborough Fine Art, Oils, pastels, drawings, 14 March–14 April 1990, 56pp. 31 col. 16 b&w repr.
1992 new york, Marlborough Gallery, Works 1990–91, 7 May– 6 June 1992, 44pp. 28 col. 8 b&w repr. + cover
2000 london, Marlborough Fine Art, Paintings, Pastels and Drawings, 1999– 2000, 27 September–28 November 2000, catalogue, 48pp. 35 repr.
1994 london, Marlborough Fine Art, Works 1992–1993, 6 May–4 June 1994, 40pp. 27 col. pl
2002 new york, Marlborough Gallery, Recent Work: oils, pastels, drawings, 12 September–5 October 2002, catalogue, 60pp. 52 repr.
london, Marlborough Graphics, Etchings and Lithographs, 6 May–4 June 1994, 24pp. 20 repr. brochure tel aviv, Gordon Gallery, Drawings, 25 May–14 June 1994, Rishumim, 56pp. , 40 repr. Hebrew 1996 new york, Marlborough Gallery, Recent Paintings and Drawings, 14 May–15 June 1996, 44pp. 29 col. pl. 9 b&w pl. new york, Marlborough Graphics, Selected Prints 1966–95, 14 May–15 June 1996, 38pp. 65 pl. 1996 tel aviv, Gordon Gallery, ‘Meheva leAvigdor Arikha – avodoth nivharot’, a loan exhibition of Paintings, Drawings and Prints, October–November 1996, announcement 1 col. repr. No catalogue 1998 new york, Marlborough Gallery, Sixty-Five Drawings 1965–1997, 4–28 March 1998, 56pp. 65 pl. london, Marlborough Fine Art, Arikha, 15 May–15 June 1998, 48pp. 41 col. & b&w pl. jerusalem, Israel Museum, Retrospective exhibition, Avigdor Arikha Selected Paintings 1953–1997, 20 November 1998–20 February 1999, introduction by Jean-Pierre Cuzin, with a text by Marc Jordan, chronology by Duncan Thomson, and a dialogue with Yona Fischer, 166pp. 102 pl., Hebrew – English, book tel aviv, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Retrospective exhibition, Drawings, 19 November 1998–20 February 1999, contains a dialogue with Mordechai Omer, 172pp. 116 pl., Hebrew – English, book 1999 edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Retrospective exhibition, Avigdor Arikha, 13 March– 9 May 1999, Israel Museum & Tel Aviv Museum catalogues and an additional folder by Duncan Thomson lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Paris sur le vif, drawings, 11 June–13 September 1999, dialogue with Arnauld Brejon de Lavergnée, catalogue published by La Réunion des Musées nationaux, Paris, 1999, 96pp. 107 pl. madrid, Galería Marlborough, Pinturas, pasteles, dibujos, 1969–1999, 26 October–27 November 1999, catalogue 56pp. 44 repr.
2004 london, Marlborough Graphics, 23 June–24 July 2004, catalogue, 20pp. 16 repr. paris, fiac Marlborough stand, 20–24 October 2004, eighteen paintings 2006 london, Marlborough Fine Art, Avigdor Arikha, Recent work, 7 June–15 July 2006, catalogue, 48pp. 36 col. repr. london, The British Museum, Avigdor Arikha, From Life, Drawings and Prints 1965–2005, 29 June 2006 –7 January 2007, catalogue preface by Neil MacGregor, introductions by Stephen Coppel and Duncan Thomson, with three texts by Samuel Beckett and two essays by Robert Hughes, 144pp. and 114 col. repr; The British Museum Press, London, 2006 2007 NEW YORK, Marlborough Gallery, Avigdor Arikha, Twenty-Five Pastels 1983-2007, 1 November-8 December 2007, 40 pp. 25 col. repr., with statement by the artist 2008 MADRID, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Arikha, 10 June-7 September 2008, with texts by Guillermo Solana, Robert Hughes and Samuel Beckett/ Avigdor Arikha, 220 pp. 2010 TEL AVIV, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Avigdor Arikha: Self-Portraits, 4 September-27 December 2010, with texts by Mordechai Omer, 86 pp. 2011 LONDON, Marlborough Fine Art, Avigdor Arikha Works from the Estate, 29 March – 7 May, preface by Martin Gayford 2012 NEW YORK, Marlborough Gallery Inc., Avigdor Arikha Works from the Estate 20 March – 21 April NIMES, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Avigdor Arikha Oeuvres sur Papier, 10 July - 31 August
Public Collections:
Monographs
amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum
avigdor arikha: boyhood drawings made in deportation Seven facsimile reproductions of drawings made at age thirteen in Nazi concentration camps (1942–43) with an introduction, 18pp. box, English edition of 200 copies, French edition of 100 copies all signed and numbered. Printed in collotype by Daniel Jacomet, Paris, 1971, published by Alix de Rothschild for the benefit of Youth Aliyah
boston, Museum of Fine Arts denver, Colorado, Denver Art Museum dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts edinburgh, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art edinburgh, Scottish National Portrait Gallery florence, Galleria degli Uffizi hillerød, Det Nationalhistoriske Museum på Frederiksborg houston, Museum of Fine Arts jerusalem, Israel Museum lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts little rock, Arkansas Arts Center london, British Museum london, National Portrait Gallery london, Tate Gallery los angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art marseille, Musée Cantini new york, Exxon Corporation Collection new york, The Jewish Museum new york, Metropolitan Museum paris, Cabinet des Estampes, Bibliothèque Nationale paris, Musée du Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins paris, Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou princeton, The Art Museum – Princeton University roanne, Musée Déchelette san francisco,The Fine Arts Museum – The Achenbach Foundation tel aviv, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art washington, Hirshhorn Museum
arikha Texts by Samuel Beckett, Richard Channin, André Fermigier, Robert Hughes, Jane Livingston, Barbara Rose. Interviews by Barbara Rose, Joseph Shannon and Maurice Tuchman. 224pp. 106 col. pl. 83 b&w, Hermann, Paris/Thames and Hudson, London, 1985 arikha by Duncan Thomson, 256pp. 216 pl, most in col., Phaidon, London, 1994. Soft cover reprint, 1996, 2000 avigdor arikha Testi di Monica Ferrando e Arturo Schwartz, ‘Ritratti d’Artista’, Moretti & Vitali, Bergamo, 2001, 80pp. 26 col. ill. avigdor arikha, from life, drawings and prints 1965– 2005, by Duncan Thomson and Stephen Coppel, preface by Neil MacGregor, with three texts by Samuel Beckett and two essays by Robert Hughes, The British Museum Press, London, 2006, 144 pp. 114 col.repr. University, Jerusalem
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Design: Shine Design, London Print: Impress Print Services Ltd. Photography: Prudence Cuming Associates Ltd and Reto Rodolfo Pedrini ISBN 978-1-909707-01-6 Catalogue no. 629 Š 2013 Marlborough