Alexander "Sasha" Okun (born 12 May 1949) is an Israeli artist, author and educator. He is best known for his work in the medium of painting and has been called the Hanoch Levin of Israeli art.[1] Okun's art is characterised for its reference to classical baroque traditions, which he identifies as tragic comedy in the tragicomic absurd perspective. He is a senior lecturer at Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem, where he has taught for more than 30 years.
Okun was born in 1949 in Saint Petersburg (then Leningrad), USSR. From 1961 to 1964, he began painting in the studio Solomon Levin at the Palace of Pioneers. Okun studied at Art School 190 from 1964 to 1966. Okun later studied at Stieglitz State Art and Industry Academy, where he graduated with Master of Arts in 1971. He taught drawing at the Art School Number 2 and in the House of Pioneers in Leningrad from 1972 to 1976.
During this time, Okun was also a member of the "Alef" section of the underground art movement. He exhibited at the first exhibition of non-conformist art in the "Gaza" Palace of Culture. Okun also exhibited at the "Nievsky" Palace of Culture in Leningrad, as well as in the Museums of Contemporary Art in Erevan (Armenia) and museums and galleries in the United States. He immigrated to Israel in 1979.
"The superb painterly qualities of the paintings link Okun to the European post-Renaissance tradition. Okun’s paintings neither reflect nor imitate. They walk a fine line between caricature and the grotesque, but do not stoop to crudity. His works have been rightly compared to frescoes in terms of the sensation they create. We can think of Giulio Romano’s Hall of the Giants in the Palazzo del Te, Mantua, from the 16th century, or some of the figures in the San Antonio della Florida in Madrid by Goya (1799), both wall paintings full of fantasy and severity."[4] Okun has been the illustrator of many books of I. Guberman, B. Kamyanov and S. Schwartzband.
Beginning in 1986, Okun taught drawing at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem, where he is senior lecturer at this time. From 1988 to 2001, he taught drawing and painting at Emunah College in Jerusalem. By the late 1980s, Okun collaborated with Igor Guberman to broadcast "Eight and a Half" on Israel Radio. He also worked with Guberman to create the Israeli television programme "On Three", which was released in 2003.[2][3][4]
Authorship
Okun translated Elie Wiesel's Souls on Fire into Russian. The book was first published underground in 1979 and has been published three times. He published his book The Book of Tasty and Healthy Life (2002), The Guide to the Country of the Elders of Zion (2009), which were co-authored by Guberman. He has also published Culinary Midrash (2000), Placebo (2007), , Kamov and Kaminka (2015) and Romance with a pencil (2019). Okun has also illustrated of books for Guberman, Boris Kamyanov and Sholom Schwartzbard.
Awards and recognition
Okun has been recognized internationally for this work. During the 1980s, he received the Ofer Feniger Award and scholarships from Gestetners and the International Centre for Arts Cité in Paris. He was named an Honorary Citizen of Jefferson County, Kentucky in 1989. In 2014, Okun received the Mordechai Ish Shalom prize for Achievements in Art.
Collections
Okun's works are represented in private collections in Australia, Austria, Canada, France, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Poland, the Netherlands, Russia and the United States, as well as in museums in Russia, Israel and Austria. The most notable venues include Stieglitz State Art and Industry Academy, the Museum of the Non-conformist Art and the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Yad Vashem, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Albertina Museum & Art Gallery in Vienna, the Negev Museum in Be'er Sheva, the Janko Da-Da Museum in Ein Hod, the Illana Goor Museum in Jaffa, the Bar David Museum in Bar Am and the Tefen Open Museum in Galilee.[5]
Selected exhibitions
2022 – exhibition of multiple works from Albertina permanent collection, Albertina, Vienna
2019 – "Where Art Thou", State Russia Museum, St. Petersburg
2018 – "Summer Exhibition", Royal Academy of Arts, London
2017 – Albertina, Vienna
2016 – "Harmony and Dissonance", Gallery U & I, London
2014 – Winners of the Ish Shalom prize exhibited at Gallery "Agripas 12" Jerusalem
2014 – Museum of Fine Arts, Vitebsk, Belarus
2013 – "Master and Disciple", together with Asya Lukin at Gallery "Nora"
2013 – Contemporary Israeli Art Museum, Ramat Gan
2011 – Gallery Bait Adom, Tel Aviv – Yafo
2010 – Paddington Central, London
2006 – Artists House, Jerusalem
2005 – Basis Gallery, Adassa Neurim
2000 – Contemporary Israeli Art Museum, Ramat Gan
1999 – The Open Museum, Tefen, Galilee
1998 – Gallery Nora, Jerusalem
1994 – Janko Da-Da Museum, Ein Hod
1994 – Museum of Fine Arts, Ein Harod
1992 – Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1988 – Jerusalem Theater
1987, 1989 – Horace Richter Gallery, Tel Aviv – Yafo
^"Sasha Okun. Observatione - Art in Process". Art in Process. 2013-09-24. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
^Schneiderman, Igor. 20 years and the life of Okun.
^Amrami, Emmanuel (2000). The Painting and the Gaze: The dialogue of mastery and Mystery.
^Sheff, Smadar (2016). Intricate Affinities: recollections of Western Tradition in Local Contemporary Art.
^"Наступающая "Гармония диссонансов" Саши Окуня". www.russiangap.com (in Russian). Retrieved 2017-07-19.
6. Ilia Rodov, Lecture on Poetics of Obscenity in Contemporary Israeli Art: Grobman, Okun, Gamburd at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 4 November 2019
External links
Official website
February 02, 2023
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view Please discuss further on the talk page February 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately especially if potentially libelous or harmful Find sources Sasha Okun news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Alexander Sasha Okun born 12 May 1949 is an Israeli artist author and educator He is best known for his work in the medium of painting and has been called the Hanoch Levin of Israeli art 1 Okun s art is characterised for its reference to classical baroque traditions which he identifies as tragic comedy in the tragicomic absurd perspective He is a senior lecturer at Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem where he has taught for more than 30 years Sasha OkunOkun in 1982BornAlexander Sasha Okun 1949 05 12 12 May 1949Leningrad USSRNationalityIsraeliEducationStieglitz State Art and Industry Academy MA Known forPainting drawing sculpture Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Authorship 2 Awards and recognition 3 Collections 3 1 Selected exhibitions 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditOkun was born in 1949 in Saint Petersburg then Leningrad USSR From 1961 to 1964 he began painting in the studio Solomon Levin at the Palace of Pioneers Okun studied at Art School 190 from 1964 to 1966 Okun later studied at Stieglitz State Art and Industry Academy where he graduated with Master of Arts in 1971 He taught drawing at the Art School Number 2 and in the House of Pioneers in Leningrad from 1972 to 1976 During this time Okun was also a member of the Alef section of the underground art movement He exhibited at the first exhibition of non conformist art in the Gaza Palace of Culture Okun also exhibited at the Nievsky Palace of Culture in Leningrad as well as in the Museums of Contemporary Art in Erevan Armenia and museums and galleries in the United States He immigrated to Israel in 1979 The superb painterly qualities of the paintings link Okun to the European post Renaissance tradition Okun s paintings neither reflect nor imitate They walk a fine line between caricature and the grotesque but do not stoop to crudity His works have been rightly compared to frescoes in terms of the sensation they create We can think of Giulio Romano s Hall of the Giants in the Palazzo del Te Mantua from the 16th century or some of the figures in the San Antonio della Florida in Madrid by Goya 1799 both wall paintings full of fantasy and severity 4 Okun has been the illustrator of many books of I Guberman B Kamyanov and S Schwartzband Beginning in 1986 Okun taught drawing at the Bezalel Academy of Art in Jerusalem where he is senior lecturer at this time From 1988 to 2001 he taught drawing and painting at Emunah College in Jerusalem By the late 1980s Okun collaborated with Igor Guberman to broadcast Eight and a Half on Israel Radio He also worked with Guberman to create the Israeli television programme On Three which was released in 2003 2 3 4 Authorship Edit Okun translated Elie Wiesel s Souls on Fire into Russian The book was first published underground in 1979 and has been published three times He published his book The Book of Tasty and Healthy Life 2002 The Guide to the Country of the Elders of Zion 2009 which were co authored by Guberman He has also published Culinary Midrash 2000 Placebo 2007 Kamov and Kaminka 2015 and Romance with a pencil 2019 Okun has also illustrated of books for Guberman Boris Kamyanov and Sholom Schwartzbard Awards and recognition EditOkun has been recognized internationally for this work During the 1980s he received the Ofer Feniger Award and scholarships from Gestetners and the International Centre for Arts Cite in Paris He was named an Honorary Citizen of Jefferson County Kentucky in 1989 In 2014 Okun received the Mordechai Ish Shalom prize for Achievements in Art Collections EditOkun s works are represented in private collections in Australia Austria Canada France Israel Italy Mexico Poland the Netherlands Russia and the United States as well as in museums in Russia Israel and Austria The most notable venues include Stieglitz State Art and Industry Academy the Museum of the Non conformist Art and the Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg State Hermitage in Saint Petersburg Yad Vashem the Israel Museum in Jerusalem the Tel Aviv Museum of Art the Albertina Museum amp Art Gallery in Vienna the Negev Museum in Be er Sheva the Janko Da Da Museum in Ein Hod the Illana Goor Museum in Jaffa the Bar David Museum in Bar Am and the Tefen Open Museum in Galilee 5 Selected exhibitions Edit 2022 exhibition of multiple works from Albertina permanent collection Albertina Vienna 2019 Where Art Thou State Russia Museum St Petersburg 2018 Summer Exhibition Royal Academy of Arts London 2017 Albertina Vienna 2016 Harmony and Dissonance Gallery U amp I London 2014 Winners of the Ish Shalom prize exhibited at Gallery Agripas 12 Jerusalem 2014 Museum of Fine Arts Vitebsk Belarus 2013 Master and Disciple together with Asya Lukin at Gallery Nora 2013 Contemporary Israeli Art Museum Ramat Gan 2011 Gallery Bait Adom Tel Aviv Yafo 2010 Paddington Central London 2006 Artists House Jerusalem 2005 Basis Gallery Adassa Neurim 2000 Contemporary Israeli Art Museum Ramat Gan 1999 The Open Museum Tefen Galilee 1998 Gallery Nora Jerusalem 1994 Janko Da Da Museum Ein Hod 1994 Museum of Fine Arts Ein Harod 1992 Israel Museum Jerusalem 1988 Jerusalem Theater 1987 1989 Horace Richter Gallery Tel Aviv Yafo 1987 Cite des Arts Paris 1985 The Jewish Museum New York 1981 1983 1985 1986 1988 Debel Gallery JerusalemReferences Edit Sasha Okun Observatione Art in Process Art in Process 2013 09 24 Retrieved 2017 07 19 Schneiderman Igor 20 years and the life of Okun Amrami Emmanuel 2000 The Painting and the Gaze The dialogue of mastery and Mystery Sheff Smadar 2016 Intricate Affinities recollections of Western Tradition in Local Contemporary Art Nastupayushaya Garmoniya dissonansov Sashi Okunya www russiangap com in Russian Retrieved 2017 07 19 6 Ilia Rodov Lecture on Poetics of Obscenity in Contemporary Israeli Art Grobman Okun Gamburd at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem 4 November 2019External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sasha Okun amp oldid 1109951924, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
