Aharon April (russian: Аарон Исаакович Априль; he, אהרון אפריל) was a Russian artist and contemporary Israeli artist born in

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

in 1932. His works are in major public and private collections in Europe, Russia and United States. 48 of his works are in museums around the world.

Biography

April was born in

Vilkaviškis Vilkaviškis () is a city in southwestern Lithuania, the administrative center of the Vilkaviškis District Municipality. It is located northwest from Marijampolė, at the confluence of of and rivers. The city got its name from the Vilkau ...

in 1932 to a Jewish family. The family was exiled to

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

in 1941, where April grew up and got his first impressions of the bleak colors of the northern land. In 1948 he managed to enter the Moscow Art School in Memory of 1905; then was forced to return to Siberia when Soviet authorities launched an anti-Semitic campaign known as “The Doctors’ Plot.” April graduated from an art school in the city of

Yakutsk Yakutsk (russian: Якутск, p=jɪˈkutsk; sah, Дьокуускай, translit=Djokuuskay, ) is the capital city of the Sakha Republic, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of ...

, and pursued his interest in history by attending lectures at a local pedagogical institute. An opportunity to study in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

arose after the death of

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, and in 1960, April graduated from the

Surikov Academy of Fine Arts The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (russian: Московское училище живописи, ваяния и зодчества, МУЖВЗ) also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational insti ...

. He immigrated to Israel in 1972, where he lived till his death on 12 February 2020.

Artistic career

After his graduation from the

April took part in many national and international exhibitions. April's first solo exhibition “Behind the Seven Seas” took place at Moscow in 1971. The works centered on the artist's experience of sailing to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

on board a trading ship. A new chapter of April's life and work began in 1972 after he received permission to immigrate to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

and settled down in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. April held many regular personal exhibitions in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

In 1975-76 he held the Chairman position of the Jerusalem artists and sculptors association and was teaching art till 1983 in the

University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...

, the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

and the

Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design ( he, בצלאל, אקדמיה לאמנות ועיצוב) is a public college of design and art located in Jerusalem. Established in 1906 by Jewish painter and sculptor Boris Schatz, Bezalel is Israel's oldes ...

. In 1991 April became the Manager of Sa-nur Artists' Village (An artists’ community consisted of immigrants from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

), a position he held till 1999. In 2001, April was awarded the Ish-Shalom Foundation Prize for the “Special Achievements in the Development of Art” and in 2005 he was elected as honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts.“Aharon April Retrospective”, by Alexander Rozhin (ed.), M-Scanrus, Moscow 2007, page 162

Artistic style

The art style of Aharon April moves from contemplative figurativism to expressive symbolism. April's paintings impress with their colorful, temperamental riot of colors (Victoria Khan-Magomedova). However, within this chaos, one can find subject and content. Critics (Victoria Khan-Magomedova, Mathy Fisher) noted that Aharon April is one of those artists who can tame the chaos, prompting viewers to formulate answers to the questions posed by the artistic work, and solve the mystery of it. There lies the leading value of the artwork (like Salvador Dali and others). From the seemingly erratic pulsating strokes, one can discover crop faces, figures and even biblical characters (Efgraf Kontchin). Color in April's paintings has special meaning (largely because of extensive experience in watercolor), which combines the finest nuances of color combination of Mediterranean nature and compositions involving biblical and universal themes (Wladimir Prokhorov, Mathy Fisher).

Selected works

File:Beside the western wall.jpg, Beside the western wall File:Aharon April Capricious of Memory.jpg, "Capricious of Memory" File:Aharon April Davids Old City.jpg, "Davids Old City" File:Aharon April Diptych Crowded in the Sky.jpg, Diptych "Crowded in the Sky" File:Aharon April Ein Kerem Near the spring.jpg, "Ein Kerem, Near the spring" File:Aharon April Gathering.jpg, "Gathering" File:Aharon April Herod's Nights.jpg, "Herod's Nights" File:Aharon April Lot and his doughters.jpg, "Lot and his daughters" File:Aharon April Pain.jpg, "Pain" File:Aharon April Song of Songs-Last.jpg, "Song of Songs-Last"

Selected Albums and Books

* "Aharon April", Introduction by

Jean Bollack Jean Bollack (15 March 1923 – 4 December 2012) was a French philosopher, philologist and literary critic. Biography He first studied classical philology at the University of Basel, among others with and Albert Béguin, and from 1945 at the ...

(Paris: Galerie Rambert, 1995). * "Aharon April", Introduction by Matti Fisher (Moscow: MOMMA, 2002). * "Aharon April", Introduction by Marina Genkin (Moscow, Scanrus 2007). * "To Love Is Always Classical..." By Aharon April and Galina Podolsky, Jerusalem 2012, * "Diptych Of Destinies" By Galina Podolsky and Aharon April, Jerusalem 2013, . * "To a mighty hand and honest colors (artists memories)" By Aharon April, Jerusalem 2016,

References

* Alexander Rozhin (ed.): ''Aharon April Retrospective. Moscow 2007, . Russian/English/Hebrew. *

Aleksandr Deyneka Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Deyneka (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Дейне́ка; May 20, 1899 – June 12, 1969) was a Soviet and Russian painter, graphic artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the most important Ru ...

, "Молодое искусство" //

Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes ...

, 14.09.1958.

n Russian N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

* Vladimir Kostin, "Образы жизни..." //

Yunost ''Yunost'' (russian: Ю́ность, ''Youth'') is a Russian language literary magazine created in 1955 in Moscow (initially as a USSR Union of Writers' organ) by Valentin Kataev, its first editor-in-chief, who was fired in 1961 for publishing Va ...

(Moscow), No.10 (1963).

* bio bibliographic dictionary of artists in USSR, 1970, Vol.1, Page. 182. *

Amnon Barzel Amnon Barzel ( he, אמנון ברזל, born 1935, in Tel Aviv) is an internationally known art curator and author. Education Barzel is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he majored in Natural Science. He earned his post-gradu ...

, "Aharon April" //

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

, 5 January 1973.

n Hebrew N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

* Meir Ronen, "A master in transit" //

Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

, 25 July 1975. * Nizza Flakser, "הנושא כביטוי לרגש" //

Davar ''Davar'' ( he, דבר, lit. ''Word'') was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the British Mandate of Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996. It was relaunched in 2016, under the name ''Davar Rishon'' as an online outlet by th ...

, 1 August 1975.

* Shella Drobkin, "From Russia to Israel with dreams" // The Montreal Suburban, 8 Nov 1975. * Bob Garret, "An artist tells…" // Boston Globe, 23 Nov 1975. * Mirriam Tal, "A Feast for the Eyes" //

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

, 4 May 1979.

David Gerstein David Gerstein (born February 6, 1974) is an American comics author and editor as well as an animation historian. Gerstein has five books and countless comic book credits to his name. He has written many Disney comics stories, usually featuring ...

, "Song of Songs" //

, 1983.

* Jacques Picard, "Fliehendes Licht und zitternde Luft" // Kulturspiegel (Bern), 11 September 1986.

n German N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

* April Aharon, "More about Biblical Stones" // Ariel (Jerusalem), No. 2 (1990). n Hebrew, English, Russian * Victor Lupan, "La colonie des artiste" // Figaro magazine (Paris), 12 February 1998. * Michael Yudson, "Classic of Love" //

Vesti (Israeli newspaper) ''Vesty'' (russian: Вести, "News") was an Israeli Russian-language daily newspaper. Based in Tel Aviv, the paper was Israel's most widely read Russian-language paper and the last remaining daily paper in Russian. The paper was started in 199 ...

, in Russian, 8 June 2002. * Galina Podolsky, "In the Light of Day" //

, in Russian, 15 June 2002. * Noa Lea Cohen "Aprils Rain" // Nekuda, No.305 (October 2007).

* Victoria Khan-Magomedova "April's blue Bird" //Iskusstvo" N16 (2008) * Evgraf Kontchin, "Competition with Light" //

Kultura ''Kultura'' (, ''Culture'')—sometimes referred to as ''Kultura Paryska'' ("Paris-based Culture")—was a leading Polish-émigré literary-political magazine, published from 1947 to 2000 by ''Instytut Literacki'' (the Literary Institute), ini ...

(Moscow), 26 June 2008.

* Dmitry Zhilinsky, "Ascendance. A Monolog about Aharon April " //

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

Journal (Moscow), No.2/19 (2008)

Video

* "Unconscious Reality", 2014. * "Creation", 2000. * "Song of Songs", 2001. * "The Other Side Of The Canvas", 2000.
''Link to All 4 videos''

External links

* Aharon April's homepag

{{DEFAULTSORT:April, Aharon Jewish Israeli artists Jewish painters Israeli male painters 1932 births Soviet painters 2020 deaths Israeli sculptors People from Vilkaviškis Soviet emigrants to Israel Soviet Jews