Jerusalem

Naim Basson was born in Iraq in 1935 and immigrated to Israel in 1950.

He studied painting and sculpture at the Avni Institute in Tel Aviv and at various art academies.

Basson’s wall paintings, reliefs and sculpture can be viewed in Maalot, at the Diplomat Hotel in Tel Aviv, the Marina Hotel in Bat Yam, the Caesar Hotel in Eilat, the Eyal Hotel in Eilat, the Tirat Hacarmel Hospital, the First International Bank in Tel Aviv, a 250 square meter relief at the Caesar Halls in Bat Yam and the biggest mezuzah in the world (4.8 meters) at the Israel Experience in Jaffa.

Basson’s works of art are exhibited in the collections of museums and galleries in Israel and the world over, at the Tel Aviv Museum, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Kimche Gallery at the Tel Aviv Hilton, the Richter Gallery in Old Jaffa, the Engel Galleries in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the Bruno Galleries in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the William Rockhill Museum in Kansas City, the Skirball Museum in Los Angeles, and at the “Jewish Quarter” Galleries in Beverly Hills, Encino and New York.

Basson’s works are also to be found in the private collections of personalities and public figures, among them Jane Fonda, George Segal and others.

The works of Raphael Abecassis are characterized by an integration between excellent technical performance, a refreshing and original combination of colors as well as clear and perfect compositions. Raphael uses these impressive means to obtain a nearly impossible aim. In other words, the restoration of a whole artistic tradition and paying tribute to our sources, but not through self effacing or self depreciation.

The scripts, the verses from the sources, the illustrated prayers and Independence Charter of the State of Israel which constitute the entire body of Raphael’s works in parchment, cut outs and colors, are tightly interconnected and breach over the gap between our forgotten artistic past and the present in which we are groping our way.

Raphael, when you have dedicated yourself to traditional subjects, you have paradoxically performed something bold, non-conformistic and unusual. You have undoubtedly succeeded in your way by virtue of your artistic talents, and thus you have contributed to all of us; the Israeli tradition, Israeli art and whoever cherishes the combination between the two.

1953 – Born in Marakesh, Morocco
1956 – Immigrated to Israel
1974-77 – Studied at Beersheva College of Education
1986 – Award for Independence Day Poster
1987 – Ministry of Education award for “Psalms of David” illuminated manuscripts
1987 – Illuminated text for President Chaim Herzog’s 40th year Independence Day presentation at the Wailing Wall.

“The Gates of Jerusalem” are composed of numberous symbols and calligraphic designs. In the upper right corner of the work, ‘Jerusalem’ appears in Hebrew; beneath it the ‘Lion of Judah’ stands next to a hand with an eye – a form used as an amulet by Jewish mystics. In the upper left hand area, a design of letters creates the word ‘Jerusalem’ above the word ‘Israel’. The two panels on the left show the ram’s horns entangled in the bush above the breast plate of the high priest which includes twelve shapes, each representing one of the tribes of Israel.

Shraga Weil was born in Nitra, Czechoslovakia in 1918 to a family of teachers, journalists and merchants. His father, a building engineer, who was an amateur painter, sent him to study with a local sculptor and then to the Prague School of Art.

He produced his first graphic works during World War II, part of which he spent as a prisoner. After the war, Weil sailed for Israel on an illegal immigrant ship, eventually arriving in the new country in 1947 and becoming a member of Kibbutz Haogen, where he has been living ever since.

In 1954 Weil spent some time studying murals and graphic techniques at the Academie des Beaux Arts, Paris and Ravenna mosaics with Prof. Severinl.

Shraga Weil’s works have been exhibited in the United States, South America, Canada, Australia, France, the USSR, Switzerland, and in the International Exhibition of Graphic Arts, in Lugano. In 1959, Weil was awarded Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Art Prize.

Museums and Public Collections

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
Boston Public Library
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Fogg Museum, Harvard University
Los Angeles County Museum
Jewish Museum, New York
Philadephia Museum of Art
Joslyn Museum, Omaha, Nebraska
Judah Magnes Museum, Berkeley, CA