Gideon Gechtman

Gideon Gechtman (1942 – November 27, 2008) was an Israeli artist and sculptor. His art is most noted for holding a dialogue with death, often in relation with his own biography.

Biography
Gideon Gechtman was born in Alexandria, Egypt. He moved to the British mandate of Palestine with his family in 1945. He studied at the Avni Institute of Art and Design (1961–1962), Hammersmith College of Art (1968–1971), the Ealing School of Art, and Tel Aviv University (1975–1976).

After returning from London with his future wife singer/actress Bat-Sheva Zeisler, he created minimalistic art that was typical for that period. These works were described to "didactically demonstrate structural and figurative change in material and appearance." Gechtman taught at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem (1972–1975) and the Art Teachers Training College of Beit Berl Academic College (1971–2008).

In 1973 Gechtman had his first solo exhibition in the Yodfat Gallery in Tel Aviv. The exhibition, named "Exposure", signified Gechtman's increasing interest in the connection between art and the biographic dimension. On the walls of the gallery were enlarged photographs of the body shaving process before the open heart surgery that Gechtman underwent in 1973. Also in this exhibition were real and fabricated documents regarding Gechtman's medical condition. At the closure of the exhibition Gechtman put up obituaries for himself in Israeli dailies Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post, as well as around his home in Rishon LeZion. Gechtman told later about the reactions: "Teachers from Bezalel said to me: 'Have you gone mad? You frightened everyone.'" The obituaries were a returning element in Gechtman's art for years to come.

In 1999, he exhibited a remodelled hospital environment under the name Yotam, named after his son who had died.

Gideon Gechtman died of heart failure on November 27, 2008.

Education

 * 1961-62 Avni Institute, Tel Aviv
 * 1962-63 Ealing School of Art, London
 * 1968-70 Hammersmith College of Art, London
 * 1975-76 Tel Aviv University, philosophy and art history

Prizes

 * 1970 – Royal Academy, London
 * 1989 – Ministry of Education Prize for Completion of Project
 * 1990 – Histadrut Prize
 * 1993 – Minister of Science and Arts Prize for Creations in the Realm of Plastic Arts
 * 1995 – Tel Aviv Museum of Art Prize
 * 1997 – Israel Discount Bank Prize for an Israeli Artist, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
 * 1999 – George and Janet Geffin Prize for Excellence in Plastic Arts, America Israel Cultural Foundation
 * 2002 – Haifa Museum Award for Art for distinguished achievement in contemporary creative arts
 * 2006 – Ministry of culture prize for his life's work.

Solo exhibitions

 * 1973 – Exposure, Yodfat Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 1984 – Givon Art Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 1985 – Mitot, Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 1988 – Preparation for Mausoleum No.1, Artists Studios, Jerusalem
 * 1992 – Israel Echo, Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 1996 – Chedva, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 1999 – Yotam, Herzliya Museum of Art
 * 2001 – Etude, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 2001 – Infinite Regress, Wiensowski & Harbord, Berlin
 * 2003 – Chedva, Gideon and all the Rest, Artists House, Tel Aviv
 * 2003 – Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa
 * 2007 – Initial Concept, Petah Tikva Museum of Art
 * 2007 – Dead Line, Beit Kanner Municipal Gallery, Rishon Lezion
 * 2008 – Launching Apparatus, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 2012 – Butterflies & Pyramids, Chelouche Gallery, Tel Aviv
 * 2013 – Gideon Gechtman, 1942–2008, Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Museums and galleries

 * Gideon Gechtman at Chelouche Gallery
 * Gideon Gechtman at Petach Tikva Museum of Art
 * Gideon Gechtman at Petach Tikva Museum of Art

General art websites

 * Gideon Gechtman at Artfacts.net