Gershon Knispel

Gershon Knispel (; 11 September 1932 – 7 September 2018) was a German-born Israeli sculptor who worked in Israel and Brazil and was one of the leading Israeli artists in the second half of the 20th century. Throughout his sixty-year career, he won prizes at the international biennales in Berlin, Moscow, and São Paulo.

Biography Gershon Knispel was born on September 11, 1932, in Cologne, Germany, to Chaim and Aliza Knispel. In 1935, due to the rise of the Nazis to power, he immigrated with his family to Israel. He studied art in the early 1950s and then illustrated lithographs and engravings for poetry books. He created illustrations and prints for Alexander Penn and Bertolt Brecht. He was a member of the Communist Party in Israel and Brazil and was active in political circles.

As a prominent representative of the "social realism " trend in Israeli art, Knispel turned to painting the living conditions of Holocaust survivors. He and Palestinian artist Abed Abdi created a sculpture commemorating the events of Land Day.

Knispel returned to Israel and lived in Haifa, where he served as an artistic consultant to the municipality in the years 1964–1989. In those years, many of his works were placed in the public space of Haifa.

In 1995, after the fall of the military dictatorship, Knispel returned to Brazil and divided his life between Haifa and São Paulo.

Knispel Died in Haifa on September 7, 2018.

Awards

1957 - Gold Medal, International Youth Biennale, Moscow, USSR 1963 - São Paulo Biennial Award, São Paulo, Brazil 1966 - Ministry of Culture Award 1976 - First prize, competition for decorating the sports hall, Haifa 1978 - First prize, international competition, Havana, Cuba 1980 - Engraving Award, Biennale, Berlin, Germany 1983 - First prize, competition for the design of the "Defeat of the 3rd Reich" monument, Haifa 1988 - First prize for the 70th celebrations, the General Organization of Workers in the Land of Israel 1991 - Gutman Prize for illustration