Yehouda Leon Chaki is a Greek-born Canadian artist based in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. Best known for his colourful palette and

expressionistic Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

landscapes, he began exhibiting in 1959 and today his work can be found in over 50 public and corporate collections and museums around the world such as

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, the

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

Musée d'Art Contemporain de Montréal The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MACM) is a contemporary art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Place des festivals in the Quartier des spectacles and is part of the Place des Arts complex. Founded in 1964, it is ...

, Jerusalem City Hall, and the Museo de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro.

Biography

Yehouda Chaki was born in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Greece on December 11, 1938. He is the son of

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

Jewish parents and his early childhood was marked by the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Chaki and his parents spent five years secretly living in the home of a Christian family in Athens before they could safely relocate to Israel with his younger brother. This event inspired many of his works including his 1968 painting which was hung at Concordia University titled "Express Train from

Salonika Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

" depicting the transport of Jews to the concentration camps during the Holocaust and the 1999 Mi Makir installation described in the book "Mi Makir: A Search for the Missing". This exhibit featured a wall filled with dark unframed portraits of Holocaust victims each bearing a number in the top left corner, and a large pile of books on the floor. Chaki lived in

Holon Holon ( he, חוֹלוֹן ) is a city on the central coastal strip of Israel, south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the metropolitan Gush Dan area. In it had a population of . Holon has the second-largest industrial zone in Israel, after Haifa. ...

, near Tel Aviv, from 1945 to 1960. Throughout his adolescence, he studied painting, drawing and printmaking under Joseph Schwartzman and in his teens entered the Avni Institute of Art to study with

Avigdor Stematsky Avigdor Stematsky (1908–1989) was a Russian Empire-born Israeli painter. He is considered one of the pioneers of Israeli abstract art. Biography Stematsky was born in 1908 in Odessa. He joined the Massad group in Tel Aviv. In 1929, he went to P ...

, Moshe Mokady and Yehezchel Streichman. Following compulsory army service, he moved to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to complete his education at the

Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Science ...

while working for artist

Yaacov Agam Yaacov Agam ( he, יעקב אגם) (born 11 May 1928) is an Israeli sculptor and experimental artist widely known for his contributions to optical and kinetic art. Biography Yaacov Gibstein (later Agam) was born in Israel, which, at that time ...

. In Paris, Chaki met Montrealer Grace Aronoff who was a student at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. The couple married in

, Canada in 1963. They have two children, Lisa, married to Alan Post and Adam Chaki, married to Lisa Noto.

Career

Chaki exhibits regularly while continuing to work out of his studio in Montreal. In 1967, Chaki became head of Painting and Drawing in the Department of Fine Arts at the Saidye Bronfman Centre of Montreal until 1989. Yehouda Chaki is currently represented by six major galleries includin
Galerie de Bellefeuille
in Montreal
Odon Wagner Gallery
in Toronto
Gallery Jones
in Vancouver

in Ottawa
Newzones
in Calgary, an
Melissa Morgan Fine Art
in Palm Desert. Chaki has also worked on commissions by various patrons of the arts. In 1987 the

Congregation Shaar Hashomayim Congregation Shaar Hashomayim () is an Ashkenazi synagogue in Westmount, Quebec. Incorporated in 1846, it is the oldest traditional Ashkenazi synagogue in Canada and the largest traditional synagogue in Canada. History Former building of Sha ...

commissioned Chaki to design a large tapestry in honour of the synagogue's 145th anniversary, in 1988 he painted "The Four Seasons" that is hanging at

Place Ville-Marie Place Ville Marie (PVM for short) is a large office and shopping complex skyscraper in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada, comprising four office buildings and an underground shopping plaza. It serves as the main and official headquarters for Roya ...

for the

Royal Bank of Canada Royal Bank of Canada (RBC; french: Banque royale du Canada) is a Canadian multinational financial services company and the largest bank in Canada by market capitalization. The bank serves over 17 million clients and has more than 89,000& ...

, in 2000 Chaki designed the stained glass windows for th
Adath Israel Congregation of Montreal
and in 2001 Salvatore Guerrera commissioned another work in stained glass for Concordia University. Chaki is also known for having created the bronze statue presented to the winners of Canada's premier fiction award, the

Giller Prize The Giller Prize (sponsored as the Scotiabank Giller Prize), is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried competition be ...

, from 1994 to 2004. Over the years his work has been reviewed in art journals such as

ARTnews ''ARTnews'' is an American visual-arts magazine, based in New York City. It covers art from ancient to contemporary times. ARTnews is the oldest and most widely distributed art magazine in the world. It has a readership of 180,000 in 124 countri ...

and Vie des Arts and supported by eminent art critics such as

J. Russell Harper J. Russell Harper D.Litt. D.F.A. Royal Society of Canada, FRSC (April 13, 1914 – November 17, 1983) was a Canadian Art history, art historian and curator who pioneered the field of art history in Canada. Career Harper was born at Caledon ...

in "Chaki: Recent Paintings" published by Galerie Dresdnere in 1982. Chaki is also the subject of the book "Chaki: A Language of Passion," published by Buschlen Mowatt Fine Arts in 1994 with essays by Barrie Mowatt, Leo Rosshandler and Herbert Aronoff. In 2017, Yehouda Chaki was featured on

Federation CJA Federation CJA is a Canadian Jewish organization that raises and distributes funds by facilitating and overseeing the delivery of services and programs. * History Federation CJA is one of the oldest Canadian Jewish organizations. CJA was founde ...

'
website
celebrating the Jews who played a major role in Quebec history, culture, and society.

Selected collections

Chaki's works are in many Canadian public collections such as the

and the

Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal The Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal (MACM) is a contemporary art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Place des festivals in the Quartier des spectacles and is part of the Place des Arts complex. Founded in 1964, it is ...

and abroad in museums such as the Museo de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro, as well as in numerous corporate and private collections.

Exhibitions

Chaki has had over 100 solo exhibitions since 1962.

Group exhibitions

Chaki has participated in over 450 group exhibitions in galleries across North and South America, Europe and the Middle East.

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaki, Yehouda 1938 births Artists from Montreal Greek emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Living people Greek Sephardi Jews Greek painters Greek emigrants to Canada Canadian painters Jewish Canadian artists Canadian alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Artists from Athens Jews and Judaism in Montreal