Avri Ohana (1939) - a set of 10 prints 35X25 cm

Avri Ohana (1939) - a set of 10 prints 35X25 cm

Avri Ohana was born in Casablanca Morocco in 1939 and immigrated to Israel at the age of 13. Raised and educated in a kibbutz, he absorbed the magic of the land and the lessons of the artists who lived there: the prominent European Dadaist Marcel Janco; Dan Hoffner, the director of Bezalel Art School in Jerusalem; the painter Eric Brauer of the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism; and the acclaimed optical and kinetic artist Yaakov Agam in Paris.

As a young man, Ohana was an early member of Ein Hod, located at the foot of Mount Carmel. It was there that he developed his unique voice as an artist. Since then, he has also traveled and worked extensively in Europe, Latin America and the United States, where he is now a citizen.

Ohana’s work reveals a restless temperament that is both in love with nature but also in relentless pursuit of perfect abstraaction. His canvaes are densely constructed atmospheric fields in which competing geometrical planes are balanced through use of color, rhythm and form. Writing in Artforum, Louis Nesbitt referred to Ohana’s ability to create “subtle atmospheres of shimmering light, ” and it is indeed the case that a unique quality of light emanates from and enlivens his work. Using acrylic, house paint and fabric in conjunction with an oil paint matrix, Ohana creates painterly planes through which small glimpses of nature and architectural elements emerge ; they are all held together by an exquisite sense of spatial tension.

Ohana's exhibitions include solo and group shows in Israel, Europe and the United States. He has also created set designs for the Haifa Theater in Israel and the Grand Opera in San Francisco, and graphic designs for ABC Television in Hollywood. Presently, Avri Ohana lives and works in New York City.

Selected Solo Shows

Rye Free Reading Room (2017, 2010, 2007)

Westbeth Gallery, NYC (2015, 2012)

The Office Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel (2008)

Davis Fine Art Gallery, Hudson NY (2004)

Bleecker Stop Gallery, NYC (2001)

Syliva Kahn Gallery, Great Neck, NY (1999)

Mary Vincent Art Gallery, Chicago (1997)

Perry Art Gallery, NYC (1996)

Orion Gallery, Georgetown, DC (1991)

Frank Bustamante Gallery, NYC (1990, 1989)

Yacobovitz Gallery, Netanya, Israel (1984, 1976)

Place Gallery, Haifa Israel (1979)

Shulamit Gallery, Jaffa, Israel (1975)

Ein Hod Gallery, Israel (1974, 1971, 1964)

Caesarea Gallery, Caesarea, Israel (1974)

New Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel (1972)

Bognar Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (1967)

Cherry Gallery, San Bernardino, CA (1965)

Poet Gallery, Paris, France (1963)

Yad Lebanim, Jerusalem (1963)

Dugit Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel (1962)

Group Exhibitions

Westbeth Gallery, NYC (2016, 2019)

Davis Fine Art Gallery, Hudson NY (2003)

Frank Bustamante Gallery, NYC (1988)

Revel Gallery, Soho, NYC (1988)

Vorpal Gallery, NYC (1987)

Carefully Chosen Gallery, Miami FL (1986)

Neustadter Gallery, Rye NY (1985)

Ein Hod, Israel (1981, 1965)

Safrai Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel (1978)

Bezalel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel (1976)

Helena Rubenstein Museum, Tel Aviv (1973)

Pestertou Gallery, Copenhagen (1973)

Shamerinsky Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel (1973)

Zingal Gallery, NYC (1970)

Katz Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel (1963)

This item is from theestate of a restaurant which operated in the artists' village of Ein Hod on the slopes of Mount Carmel.

The restaurant operated in the 1970s and was the focus of every artist's pilgrimage

In the estate collection you can find items by Marcel Janko, Shmuel Schlesinger, Moshe Mukdai, Ovadia alkara Ben- Zion Magal, Ora Lahav Chaaltiel, Prof. Joseph Chaaltiel, Genia Berger, Avri Ohana, Miriam Ruth Sarnoff, Shmuel & Ealle Raayoni, Avinoam Kosovsky, Yaakov Gotterman.

Like the artists of the period, famous cultural figures visited Ein Hod, including Gila Almagor, Dan Kanner, Dan Ben-Amotz, Moni Moshonov, Shlomo Braba.

The artists' village of Ein Hod is located next to the old road from Tel Aviv to Haifa, on a hill overlooking the shores of Atlit and the Crusader fortress. The village was founded in 1953, about five years after the establishment of the state of Israel, following an idea conceived by a group of revolutionary artists led by Marcel Janko: to establish the first artist village in Israel that would provide a supportive, creative and fertile environment for its residents.

The first decades were difficult for the founders, but perseverance, ideals and vision led to the establishment of Ein Hod as the only artist village in Israel - and among the few in the world - whose population is based on artists in all fields of art: from plastic art to music, literature and theater.