Gideon Gechtman

Gideon Gechtman (; 17 December 1942 – 27 November 2008) was an Israeli artist and sculptor. His art is most noted for holding a dialogue with death, frequently as it relates to his own biography.

Biography Gideon Gechtman was born on 17 December, 1942 in Alexandria, Egypt. He moved to British mandatory of Palestine with his family in 1945. He studied at the Avni Institute of Art and Design (1961–1962) in Tel Aviv, Hammersmith College of Art (1968–1971) in London, UK, the Ealing School of Art in London, UK, and Tel Aviv University (1975–1976).

After returning from London with his future wife singer/actress Bat-Sheva Zeisler, he created minimalistic art that was typical for that period. These works were described to "didactically demonstrate structural and figurative change in material and appearance." Gechtman taught at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (1972–1975) and the Art Teachers Training College of Beit Berl Academic College (1971–2008).

In 1973, Gechtman had his first solo exhibition in the Yodfat Gallery in Tel Aviv. The exhibition, named "Exposure," signified Gechtman's increasing interest in the connection between art and the biographic dimension. On the walls of the gallery were enlarged photographs of the body shaving process before the open heart surgery that Gechtman underwent in 1973. Also in this exhibition were real and fabricated documents regarding Gechtman's medical condition. At the closure of the exhibition, Gechtman put up obituaries for himself in Israeli dailies Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, as well as around his home in Rishon LeZion. Gechtman later commented on the reactions: "Teachers from Bezalel said to me: 'Have you gone mad? You frightened everyone.'" The obituaries were a returning element in Gechtman's art for years to come.

In 1999, he exhibited a remodelled hospital environment under the name Yotam, in the name of his son, who had died in 1998.

Gideon Gechtman died of heart failure on 27 November, 2008. He was 65.

Gallery

Education 1961-62 Avni Institute, Tel Aviv 1962-63 Ealing School of Art, London 1968-70 Hammersmith College of Art, London 1975-76 Tel Aviv University, philosophy and art history

Prizes 1970 – Royal Academy, London 1989 – Ministry of Education Prize for Completion of Project 1990 – Histadrut Prize 1993 – Minister of Science and Arts Prize for Creations in the Realm of Plastic Arts 1995 – Tel Aviv Museum of Art Prize 1997 – Israel Discount Bank Prize for an Israeli Artist, Israel Museum, Jerusalem 1999 – George and Janet Geffin Prize for Excellence in Plastic Arts, America Israel Cultural Foundation 2002 – Haifa Museum Award for Art for distinguished achievement in contemporary creative arts 2006 – Ministry of culture prize for his life's work.

Solo exhibitions 1973 – Exposure, Yodfat Gallery, Tel Aviv 1984 – Givon Art Gallery, Tel Aviv 1985 – Mitot, Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv 1988 – Preparation for Mausoleum No.1, Artists Studios, Jerusalem 1992 – Israel Echo, Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv 1996 – Chedva, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv 1999 – Yotam, Herzliya Museum of Art 2001 – Etude, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv 2001 – Infinite Regress, Wiensowski & Harbord, Berlin 2003 – Chedva, Gideon and all the Rest, Artists House, Tel Aviv 2003 – Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa 2007 – Initial Concept, Petah Tikva Museum of Art 2007 – Dead Line, Beit Kanner Municipal Gallery, Rishon Lezion 2008 – Launching Apparatus, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv 2012 – Butterflies & Pyramids, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv 2013 – Gideon Gechtman, 1942–2008, Israel Museum, Jerusalem