Avigdor Stematsky is a significant avangard Israeli artist. He found inspiration especially in the Jewish School of Paris of the 1930s and in the late cubism of the 1940-50s. The artist was born in Odessa in 1908. In 1921 his family immigrated to Palestine via Istanbul and settled in the Neve Shalom neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Interestingly, his father opened a bookshop, that later became to be a famous chane store – “Steimatzky”. This happened due to their relative Yehezkel Steimatzky, who established a book trading house in 1925 on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem.
Between 1925 and 1926, he studied at the Herzliya Gymnasium, but that was not interesting for him. Therefore, Avigdor Stematsky started art studies at the school founded by architect Joseph Berlin in Tel Aviv. In 1926, he was admitted to Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem. However, Steimatsky could not get along with the conservatism of the school, which resisted any modernist expression.
In a short time in 1929 he began studying at Yitzhak Frankel’s Painting Studio in Tel Aviv. Frankel’s studio emphasized the values of modernist painting and, in particular, put an accent on the use of color. During that period Steimatsky forwent the contour lines and auxiliary lines, so he used paints to show key elements of the space.
“1928 Jerusalem”
For example, Kings gallery has a depiction of “1928 Jerusalem” from pre Frankel’s studio period. The color allocates the buildings, but black contours dominate. The modernist point of view on the city from above and on the side is uncommon and surprises. Avigdor Stematsky conveyed his personal, a bit dream-like perception of Jerusalem with small beige buildings under giant trees.
In January 1939, Stimatsky already presented his first solo exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Kings Gallery is a leading fine art gallery established in Jerusalem in 1995. We strive to collect and sell the highest quality historic and contemporary Israeli and International art. The gallery specializes primarily in artists from the early period of the 1920’s. Besides, Kings Gallery features leading up-and-coming young artists who will definitely be prominent names in the next few years.
