בידספיריט | תיאו תוביאס, אקסודוס Theo Tobias, Exodus,

תיאו תוביאס, אקסודוס Theo Tobias, Exodus, lithograph. Hand signed and numbered, 20/135. 54cm x 76cm. 66cm x 81cm with passe-partout. With matting but not framed. - תיאו טוביאס 2012 - 1927,אקסודוס, ליטוגרפיה איכותית ושמורה. חתום וממוספר 20/1335  . מידות  48/60ס”מ. Theo Tobiasse (1927-2012) was born in Jaffa but moved with his family to Paris in 1931. During the Nazi occupation of Paris, the Tobiasse family lived hidden for two years in a tiny apartment in Paris. During that time, the family never ventured outside. Theo spent much of his time reading, drawing, and playing chess with his father. The chessboard pattern seen in many of Theo’s work is symbolic of this time in his life. He believes that as a result of what he has experienced, he has achieved perfect contentment and harmony in his life. After the war Tobiasse worked as a very successful advertising artist but he painted as often as he could, often at night. In 1960 he entered his first art show and won the Grand Prize. Since 1961, Tobiasse has enjoyed impressive international success. In 1976 he moved his studio to St. Paul-de-Vence. It was in Nice, the city he had adopted upon leaving Paris, that his pictorial expression came into its own. His subjects became chronicled images of his childhood: buses that he had caught sight of on his journey to France, boats with wheels, tea kettles, the warmth of the fireside, the trains when he arrived in Paris at dawn, the smokiness of railway stations, etc. All of these symbols were combined, with Biblical or erotic fantasies and also with the theme of exile, which also became a critical theme for Tobiasse. The theme of exile took on a more dramatic dimension when it began to encompass not only past and present exiles, but also the fear of exiles still to come. This theme is is portrayed through women, children, crowds, but also candelabra, which represent the glow of hope. Theo Tobiasse has created monumental works such as the fountain entitled “L’Enfant Fou” for the Arenas Business Centre at Nice Airport, and stained-glass windows for various institutions in Strasbourg and Nice. He also designed costumes and state-set models for Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion”. He has filled many sketchbooks, some of which have been published, and created illustrated works for lovers of fine books, plus etchings and engravings. Theo Tobiasse also discovered a passion for ceramics, producing pottery and dishes, as well as a series of small bronze sculptures. Several monographs have been published on Theo Tobiasse’s work. A sentimental and private individual, Tobiasse puts his innermost feelings into all of his works and his little “secret” into his original paintings: a personal message which he writes in Yiddish and then glues onto the canvas before painting or collaging over it. No one will ever know the message without destroying the painting itself.