King’s Gallery in Jerusalem proudly presents an original pastel on paper by Shmuel Bak. Titled Pears (אגסים), this signed masterpiece measures 62 x 47 cm. and stands out as a brilliant representation of Bak’s surrealist allegorical pieces.
Biography of the artist
Born in Vilna, Lithuania, in 1933, Shmuel Bak displayed extraordinary artistic talent as a child. During World War II, he survived the Vilna Ghetto, where community leaders hosted his first exhibition when he was just nine years old. Although Bak lost almost his entire family in the Holocaust, he survived through a series of miraculous events.
After the war, Bak studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and later refined his craft at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. His traumatic childhood heavily shapes his unique artistic vocabulary. Instead of depicting direct historical scenes, Bak constructs complex symbolic worlds. He uses recurring motifs—chess pieces, floating stones, broken architecture, and pears—to explore themes of destruction, memory, and Tikkun (repair).
The Language of Pears
Bak chooses pastel on paper—a delicate, soft medium—to render rigid, industrial forms. This deliberate contrast enhances the emotional tension of the image.
The composition reveals an intricate, wooden cabinet apparatus that resembles an old laboratory still or alchemy machine. Bak integrates natural, organic pears directly into mechanical structures. Two dark, elongated pears sit on the upper shelf, connected to a metal spout that bleeds green pigment. Below, a pale pear sits confined inside a box-like chamber, while a heavy metal vessel connects through copper tubing to another pear at the base.
Probably, Bak employs the pear as a multi-layered metaphor. While classical still-life painting uses fruit to symbolize abundance, vitality, and life, Bak’s pears represent human vulnerability and survival. The machine attempts to process, distill, and reconstruct raw memory from past devastation. The fragmented wooden frames show visible seams and missing pieces, proving that repair never restores complete perfection. The pastel medium gives the wood and metal a warm, glowing hue, suggesting that hope and light endure even within structured loss.
Acquire This Remarkable Piece Today
We invite you to visit King’s Gallery in Jerusalem to experience this artwork in person.
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 in artists from the early period of the 1920’s. In addition, Kings Gallery features leading up-and-coming young artists who will definitely be prominent names in the next few years.
To inquire about this original piece by Yossi Stern, request a detailed condition report, please contact us.
Contact King’s Gallery in Jerusalem today to inquire about purchasing this artwork or to arrange a private viewing.