A Different Kind of Death and Resurrection Tsvi Sadan
Culture

A Different Kind of Death and Resurrection

Moshe Gershuni (1936-2017), the enfant terrible of the Israeli art scene, was awarded the 2003 Israel Prize, but refused to attend the ceremony in protest of then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s right-wing policies.

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by Tsvi Sadan
As result, then-Culture Minister Limor Livnat revoked the award.   Gershuni’s first exhibition was held at the Israel Museum in 1969. In 1977, he was fired from the Bezalel School of Art after asking his students to flood the streets of Jerusalem with notes reading “The painting problem is the Palestinian problem.” Gershuni was considered by sculptor Micha Ullman to be “the soul of Israeli art, with his art coming from his soul rather than his head.” In the 1980s, Gershuni begun to develop a unique technique of painting with his fingers while crouching on the floor.   His piece…

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