A stimulating, limited-edition serigraph from renowned Israeli artist ITZCHAK TARKAY (1935-2012), based on his early-aughts oil painting, Seated Woman with a Basket of Fruit. The subject poses against a Post-Impressionist backdrop of vibrant hues and geometric patterns, the fluid lines and rich palette pointing to the influence of Matisse and Toulouse-Lautrec. Though applauded for his expressive use of color and the creation of dream-like moods, Tarkay’s primary focus was compositional lucidity. He took to heart Picasso’s dictum that “Every painting should rhyme,” and the affinity of the forms here provides cohesion as the eye explores the surface. In a like manner, the shade of each ripe fruit is echoed in the sitter’s costume. Numbered 192/450.

ITZCHAK TARKAY was an influential Israeli artist primarily known for his watercolor and acrylic portraits of sophisticated-looking women in modish clothing. He was born in 1935 in Subotica, Serbia, about 10 km below the Hungarian border, in what was then Yugoslavia. When he was nine years old, his family—after being liberated from a WWII Nazi concentration camp in Mauthausen, Austria—resettled in Israel. Tarkay went on to study at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and later at the Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv.

An accomplished painter, serigrapher, and watercolorist, Tarkay mentored younger Israeli artists throughout his career—including Mark Kanovich (b. 1970), Yuval Wolfson (b. 1966), and David Najar (b. 1962), all of whom worked with him in his studio. He was a great friend of Yaacov Agam (b. 1928), the master Israeli sculptor and experimental artist, widely celebrated for his contributions to optical and kinetic art. They collaborated on two original paintings.

Tarkay died unexpectedly in 2012 in Detroit, Mich., following emergency heart surgery.

Everything we want and need can be found in a female form. – ITZCHAK TARKAY

DETAILS

Artist – ITZCHAK TARKAY (1935-2012)

Period/Year – 2000s

Origin – ISRAEL

Styles/Movements – POST IMPRESSIONIST; FIGURATIVE

Media – LITHOGRAPH

Support – PAPER

Edition – 192/450

Colors – ORANGE, CORNFLOWER, EMERALD, RUBY

Condition – Excellent vintage condition. May show minor signs of previous ownership and use.

Dimensions – 29 ¾" H × 29 ¾" W × 1 ½" D