It is interesting to observe the creative path of Michael Argov in connection with the development of Israeli art. The artist was born in 1920, Vienna, to a family of Zionist merchants. However, already in 1933 they moved to the future land of Israel. There he started to learn from the creators of new national art. As the main names, including artists displayed in our gallery, such as Boris Shatz and Reuven Rubin, Michael Argov initially worked in the figurative style. Soon, nevertheless, he moved to abstraction. The artist studied in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, specializing in fresco painting. In 1951, Argov had a successful solo exhibition, and won the first prize of paintings from Deauville in 1952.
Geometric abstraction
Israeli art society did not support the stylistic change in the Argov’s art towards geomeric abstraction. The interest in the structured and calculated world perception led him to the minimalistic paintings. Contrary to the demands of time and young Israeli society, Michael Argov’s artworks were considered to be cold and devoid of emotions. “Untitled” by Michael Argov is a discourse on the structure of a surface. Especially the artist analyzes the perception of volume, shape and color shades.
In the early period Michael Argov’s paintings were inspired primarily by Matisse and Buffet. Interestingly, our gallery has “Bouquet de Jonquilles” by Buffet, a French expressionist artist, who is widely famous for austere figurative paintings. Particularly, his flowers seem to be sharp and prickly, contradicting to the nature. Please check our blog about this artwork.
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. Especially, the gallery specializes in artists from the early period of the 1920’s. In addition, Kings allery features leading up-and-coming young artists who will definitely be prominent names in the next few years.
