Gershon Iskowitz

Gershon Iskowitz RCA (1919 – January 26, 1988) was a Canadian artist of Jewish background originally from Poland. Iskowitz was a Holocaust survivor of the Kielce Ghetto, who was liberated at Buchenwald. The circumstances of his early life—the trauma of the Holocaust and the uncertainty of the immediate postwar period, followed by immigration and adaptation to Canada—provide a lens through which to understand and appreciate his work.[1] His early figurative images represent his tragic observed and remembered experiences while his later luminous abstract works represent his own unique vision of the world.[1] Iskowitz's work does not easily fit into contemporary schools and movements, but it has been characterized as hard-edge, minimalist, abstract expressionist, and action painting.[2]

Gershon Iskowitz
Born1919 (1919)
Kielce, Poland
DiedJanuary 26, 1988
NationalityCanadian
EducationAkademie der Bildenden Künste München
Known forPainter
Notable workUplands E (1971), Action (1941), Self-portrait (c.1955)

Early life

Iskowitz was born in Kielce, in the Second Polish Republic.[3] His father was Shmiel Yankl, generally referred to as Jankel; his mother was Zisla Lewis. Gershon was the third of four children; he had two brothers, Itchen and Yosl, and a younger sister, Devorah.[4] At the age of four he was sent to a yeshiva in Lublin. He became bored and began drawing. After a year and a half he begged his father to be allowed to return home and was given permission to do so. He was tutored in Polish and placed in a public school. After two and a half years his father set up a small studio area for him in their home and allowed him to spend his time drawing and painting. At the age of nine he exchanged original art posters for free admission to a local cinema.[5]

World War II

He was accepted at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw in 1939 and arranged to live with an uncle in the city, but a few days later, the German Army invaded the city and Iskowitz returned to Kielce. The Nazi persecution of the country’s Jewish population began almost immediately. On March 31, 1941, the occupying forces established the Kielce Ghetto, a few square blocks surrounded by barbed-wire-topped walls and locked gates. The Iskowitz family and all the other Jews in the city were forced to live there. They were soon joined by Jews transported from elsewhere in Poland for “containment,” and by August 1942, more than 25,000 people were jammed into this squalid area.[4] In September 1943 the Kielce Ghetto was burned. Gershon and his brother, Yosl, were sent to Auschwitz.[6]

Gershon painted or drew at night only after every one else was asleep. He said "Why did I do it? I think it kept me alive. There was nothing to do. I had to do something in order to forget the hunger. It's very hard to explain, but in the camp painting was a necessity for survival."[7] He was transferred to Buchenwald in the fall of 1944. Near the end of the war he tried to escape but was seriously wounded. After the April 11 liberation of Buchenwald he was sent to recuperate in hospitals for about nine months.

From January to May 1947 he attended the Academy of Fine Arts Munich and had private study with Oskar Kokoschka who painted in an intense expressionistic style.

Life in Canada

Gershon's first application to move to Canada was rejected because he had a limp. "Always when my life was in danger," Iskowitz found "I did a drawing and pulled through." He reapplied and drew a picture for the bureaucrat in immigration. The fellow declared Gershon a genius, predicted a great future for him in Canada, approved his emigration application and said that Gershon would have special privileges on the voyage to his new home.[8] Thus in 1949 he emigrated to Canada to stay with relatives living in Toronto.

Early Career

In 1952 he attended the Artist's Workshop, Toronto (until 1959–60) and began sketching trips to Markham and Uxbridge. He had his first exhibition with the Canadian Society of Graphic Art (CSGA) in 1954, submitting two works for $300 CAD each.[1] Iskowitz continued to regularly exhibited with the society for the next 9 years.[1] Through his participation with the CSGA, Iskowitz befriended influential artists in the Toronto region, even exhibiting with members of the prestigious Painters Eleven.[1] In 1954, he began attending a series of painting summer schools run by Bert Weir, where artists mentored students in McKellar, Ontario in exchange for food and lodgings.[1]

10 years after he began attending the Artist's Workshop, Iskowitz was able to afford his own studio space, a two room apartment along Spadina Avenue in Toronto.[1] While working out of his Spadina studio in the early 60's, Iskowitz exhibited at new spaces in the city, holding his first solo exhibition at the Hayter Gallery in 1957.[1]

Gershon said "there was that period after '65 for a while when people would say, 'Do you still paint?' and I'd say, 'Yes, yes, I still paint.' And they'd say painting is dead, you know. Or if they didn't say that they'd say, 'Why don't you use acrylics?' Well, I tried them, but I stayed with oils, and the watercolours I'd been doing since I was a kid. It doesn't matter what you use, it matters how you use it."[9]

Abstraction & Northern Canada

There is no definitive date at which Iskowitz evolved into abstract and non-representational painting, but by the mid-1960's his work had taken on a largely different character.[1] Inspired by a conversation with photographer John Reeves, Iskowitz grew an interest in "aerial perspectives." On a Canada Council travel grant in 1967, Iskowitz chartered an aircraft to view the coast of the Hudson Bay, an encounter which a significant mark on the artist's practice.[1]

As Iskowitz grew successful working in abstract painting, he returned to the sub-Arctic for numerous study trips. In 1971, he visited James Bay, and returned to Yellowknife in both 1973 and 1975.[1] Following his encounters with northern Canada, Iskowitz' art grew less representational. A lover of music, Iskowitz often harmonized the classical melodies he played in the studio with his compositions, producing series like Seasons, a set of diptych oil paintings.[1]

Later Career & Death

In 1982 Gershon was honoured by the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) with a 40-year retrospective of his work.[10] A subset of the exhibition was put on display in London, England. Gershon said [painting] "... is just an extension of myself. It's a plastic interpretation of the way I think. You reflect your own vision. That's what it's all about. Art is like evolution and life, and you've got to search for life, stand on your own feet and continue. The only fear I have is before starting to paint. When I paint, I'm great, I feel great."[11]

In gratitude for the value that artistic grants had given to his career he established the charitable not-for-profit Gershon Iskowitz Foundation in 1985. Its mandate was to award the annual Gershon Iskowitz Prize, in association with the Canada Council in 1986 and 1987, of $25,000 to mature artists. The Foundation awarded the prize on its own from 1988 to 2006. It then partnered with the AGO in 2007 to award this prize as the winner would then receive an exhibition at the AGO.[12]

He was made a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.[13] On January 26, 1988, Gershon Iskowitz died in Toronto, Ontario.

Works in public collections in Canada

Over the years, many public art galleries have acquired, through purchase and donation, works by Gershon Iskowitz. Beginning in the mid-1960s, his work received critical attention and was shown in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally.[14] In addition, in 1995 in celebration of the Prize’s 10th Anniversary the Foundation donated over one hundred and forty paintings and works on paper to many of these same institutions. The works have been included in major exhibitions and many are exhibited as part of the Permanent Collections of these institutions.[12]

InstitutionCityProvince
Agnes Etherington Art CentreKingstonON
Art Gallery of AlbertaEdmontonAB
Art Gallery of Greater VictoriaVictoriaBC
Art Gallery of HamiltonHamiltonON
Art Gallery of Nova ScotiaHalifaxNS
Art Gallery of OntarioTorontoON
Art Gallery of PeterboroughPeterboroughON
Art Gallery of WindsorWindsorON
Art Gallery of York UniversityTorontoON
Beaverbrook Art GalleryFrederictonNB
Carleton University Art GalleryOttawaON
Confederation Centre of the ArtsCharlottetownPEI
Glenbow MuseumCalgaryAB
Justina M. Barnicke Gallery at Hart House
University of Toronto
TorontoON
Kitchener-Waterloo Art GalleryKitchenerON
Leonard and Bina Ellen Art Gallery
Concordia University
MontrealQC
Art Gallery of GuelphGuelphON
MacKenzie Art GalleryReginaSK
MacLaren Art CentreBarrieON
McMaster Museum of ArtHamiltonON
McMichael Canadian Art CollectionKleinbergON
Montreal Museum of Fine ArtsMontrealQC
Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, UBCVancouverBC
Musée d'art de JolietteJolietteQC
Musée national des beaux-arts du QuébecQuébecQC
Museum LondonLondonON
Museum of Contemporary Canadian ArtTorontoON
National Gallery of CanadaOttawaON
Nickle GalleriesCalgaryAB
Owens Art Galler
Mount Allison University
SackvilleNB
Robert McLaughlin GalleryOshawaON
Rodman Hall Arts CentreSt. CatharinesON
The Rooms Provincial Art GallerySt. John’sNFLD
University of Lethbridge Art GalleryLethbridgeAB
University College
University of Toronto
TorontoON
Vancouver Art GalleryVancouverBC
Winnipeg Art GalleryWinnipegMA

One-man exhibitions

The following table summarizes Iskowitz's one-man exhibitions:[5]

YearVenueCityProv / State
1960-1Here and Now GalleryTorontoOntario
1961YMHATorontoOntario
1963Dorothy Cameron GalleryTorontoOntario
1964Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1966Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1967Waterloo UniversityWaterlooOntario
1967Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1969Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1970Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1971Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1973Hart HouseTorontoOntario
1973Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1973Rodman Hall Arts CentreSt. CatharinesOntario
1972Galerie AllenVancouverBritish Columbia
1974Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1975Glenbow-Alberta InstituteCalgaryAlberta
1975Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1976Owens Art Gallery
Mount Allison University
SackvilleNew Brunswick
1976Canadian Art GalleriesCalgaryAlberta
1976Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1977Martha Jackson GalleryNew YorkNew York
1977Art Gallery of Nova ScotiaHalifaxNova Scotia
1977Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1978Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1979Thomas GalleryWinnipegManitoba
1979Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1979Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1980Robertson GalleriesOttawaOntario
1981Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1982Art Gallery of Ontario
Forty Year Retrospective
TorontoOntario

Group exhibitions

YearVenueCityProv / State
1947ModenaItaly
1947ParisFrance
1947MunichGermany
1957Isaacs GalleryTorontoOntario
1957Hayter GalleryTorontoOntario
1958Jordan GalleryTorontoOntario
1959Gallery MoosTorontoOntario
1964Winnipeg BiennialWinnipegManitoba
1965xxvith Canadian Biennial,
National Gallery of Canada
OttawaOntario
1966Winnipeg BiennialWinnipegManitoba
1967Ontario Centennial Art Exhibition,
traveling exhibition throughout Ontario
organized by the Province of Ontario
VariousOntario
1970'Eight Artists from Canada',
Tel Aviv Museum
Tel AvivIsrael
1971Man and His WorldMontrealQuebec
1972xxxvi International Biennial Exhibition of ArtVeniceItaly
1972'Toronto Painters 1953–65,'
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario
and the Art Gallery of Ontario
TorontoOntario
1973'The Canadian Canvas,'
traveling exhibition organized by Time Canada
VariousCanada
1977'Seven Canadian Painters',
Canada Council Art Bank,
traveling exhibition
VariousNew Zealand and Australia
1978'A Toronto Sensibility,'
.The Art Gallery at Harbourfront
TorontoOntario
1979'Now and Then,' Factory 77TorontoOntario
1979'Compass/8 Painters,'
The Art Gallery at Harbourfront
TorontoOntario
1980'Contemporary Canadian Art,'
Nabisco World Headquarters Reception Gallery
East HanoverNew York
1980'A Selection of Canadian Paintings,'
The Art Gallery at Harbourfront
TorontoOntario
1980'The Staff Collects – An Experiment,'
paintings from the Shell Collection,
The Art Gallery at Harbourfront
TorontoOntario
1981'Other Places, Other Painters; Canadian Contemporary Art,
' Sir George Williams Art Gallery, Concordia University
MontrealQuebec
2007Thielsen GalleryLondonOntario
2010Horton GalleryNew YorkNew York

Awards

Winners of the Gershon Iskowitz Prize

In 2007, the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation in partnership with the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) established the annual Gershon Iskowitz Prize presented by AGO in order to raise awareness of the visual arts in Canada.

YearArtistCity
2021Faye HeavyShieldBlood Reserve, Alberta
2019Ken LumVancouver
2018Shuvinai AshoonaKinngait
2017Valérie BlassMontreal
2016Rebecca BelmoreMontreal
2015Sandra MeigsVictoria
2014Liz MagorVancouver
2013Geoffrey FarmerVancouver
2012Kim AdamsToronto
2011Michael SnowToronto
2010Brian JungenVancouver
2009Shary BoyleToronto
2008Françoise SullivanMontreal
2007Mark LewisLondon, England
2006Iain Baxter&Windsor
2005Max DeanToronto
2004Rodney GrahamVancouver
2003Janet Cardiff and George Bures MillerGuelph
2002Geoffrey JamesToronto
2001John MasseyToronto
2000Paterson EwenLondon
1999Stan DouglasVancouver
1998Shirley WiitasaloToronto
1997Ron MoppettCalgary
1996Murray FavroLondon
1995Betty GoodwinMontreal
1994Eric CameronCalgary
1993Vera FrenkelToronto
1992Irene F. WhittomeMontreal
1991Arnaud MaggsToronto
1990Jack ShadboltVancouver
1989Gathie FalkVancouver
1988General IdeaToronto and New York
1987Louis ComtoisMontreal
1986Denis JuneauMontreal

References

  1. Holubizky, Ihor (2019). Gershon Iskowitz: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute. ISBN 9781487101923.
  2. Holubizky, Ihor (2019). Gershon Iskowitz: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute. ISBN 9781487101923.
  3. Gershon Iskowitz: Painter of Light, by Adele Freedman, Merritt Publishing Company Limited, 1982, ISBN 0-920886-16-7
  4. Holubizky, Ihor (2019). Gershon Iskowitz: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute. ISBN 9781487101923.
  5. Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ont., Jan. 23 – Mar. 7, 1982, and other museums. Curated by Burnett, David. ISBN 978-0-919876-82-8
  6. Suzanne B. Rackover (2003). The Holocaust Art of Gershon Iskowitz, Isaac Applebaum and Yehouda Chaki (PDF). Collections Canada. 13 (20 / 108 in PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on November 21, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2016 via direct download.
  7. artscanada, Gershon Iskowitz by Peter Mellen, October/November 1971
  8. Gershon Iskowitz: Painter of Light, by Adele Freedman, Merritt Publishing Company Limited, 1982, ISBN 0-920886-16-7 p. 61
  9. http://www.ccca.ca/c/writing/h/hale/hale001t.html Archived March 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine |Barrie Hale artscanada # 176/177, Feb. / March 1973
  10. Iskowitz, David Burnett, Catalog of a traveling exhibition which opened at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Jan. 23, 1982. ISBN 978-0-919876-82-8
  11. Griselda Bear, Visual Arts Officer, Canadian High Commission, London, January 1983
  12. Nancy Hushion, Executive Director, Gershon Iskowitz Foundation
  13. "Members since 1880". Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  14. Holubizky, Ihor (2019). Gershon Iskowitz: Life & Work. Toronto: Art Canada Institute. ISBN 9781487101923.
  15. "Prizes". Canada Council. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  16. "Gershon Iskowitz". www.gallery.ca. National Gallery of Canada. Retrieved May 26, 2022.

Further reading

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