![Zeev Kun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/Zeev_Kun.jpg)
Zeev Kun (born 16 April 1930) is an Israeli painter of Hungarian origin. He is the father of the artist
Shay Kun.
Life
Zeev Kun was born in the city of
Nyíregyháza
Nyíregyháza (, sk, Níreďháza) is a city with county rights in northeastern Hungary and the county capital of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg. With a population of 118,001, it is the seventh-largest city in Hungary and the second largest in ...
in northwestern
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
. As a teenager, he worked at an art supply store owned by his parents, Blanka and Sandor. After the deportation of
Hungarian Jews began in March–April 1944, 14-year-old Zeev Kun was first sent to
Auschwitz concentration camp, then to
Jaworzno concentration camp The Jaworzno concentration camp was a concentration camp in WW2 German-occupied Poland and later in Communist Poland. It was first established by the Nazis in 1943 during the Second World War and was later used from 1945 to 1956 by the Soviet NKVD a ...
, located 23 kilometers away from
Auschwitz and used as its outer branch, and from January to April 1945 he was imprisoned at the camps of
Gross-Rosen
, known for =
, location =
, built by =
, operated by =
, commandant =
, original use =
, construction =
, in operation = Summer of 1940 – 14 February 1945
, gas cham ...
,
Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...
and
Flossenbürg;
on April 23, 1945, the prisoners of the camp Flossenbürg were freed by American troops. In late August 1945, Zeev Kun came back to Hungary, and with the Auschwitz concentration camp tattoo still visible on his arm, he resumed school. Later, he entered the ''Magyar Képzőművészeti Főiskola'' in Budapest (nowadays called
Hungarian University of Fine Arts
The Hungarian University of Fine Arts ( Hungarian: ''Magyar Képzőművészeti Egyetem'', MKE) is the central Hungarian art school in Budapest, Andrássy Avenue. It was founded in 1871 as the Hungarian Royal Drawing School ''(Magyar Királyi Mi ...
) in the fall of 1947, where he studied for over a year and a half. In 1949, as the new pro-communist political regime was growing more and more repressive, Zeev Kun joined a group of thirty Jews from the leftist Zionist organization "
Hashomer Hatzair" and managed to secretly cross the Czech border, and later he arrived to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
via
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. In the city of
Bari, the group boarded a ship that brought them 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 ...
.
Once in Israel, Zeev Kun first settled at the kibbutz Givat-Haim near
Hadera
Hadera ( he, חֲדֵרָה ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5&nb ...
. He did not stay there for long, though, as in 1951 he became a student at the ''Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien''
Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Akademie der bildenden Künste Wien) is a public art school in Vienna, Austria.
History
The Academy of Fine Arts Vienna was founded in 1692 as a private academy modelled on the Accademia di Sa ...
, as the city had just witnessed the birth of the so-called
Vienna School of Fantastic Realism
The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism (german: Wiener Schule des Phantastischen Realismus) is a group of artists founded in Vienna in 1946. It includes Ernst Fuchs (artist), Ernst Fuchs, Helmut Leherb, Maître Leherb (Helmut Leherb), Arik Brauer ...
. Students and young professors of the Academy sought to reflect upon the tragedy of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, still maintaining a dialog with the masters of
German Renaissance (such as
Hieronymus Bosch
Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/ Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on o ...
and
Pieter Bruegel the Elder), as well as the pioneers of
surrealism of 1920s and 1930s, first of all
Max Ernst
Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...
(1891–1976). At the Academy, Zeev Kun was close to
Anton Lehmden (born in 1929) and
Ernst Fuchs (1930–2015). In his art, the latter focused on the images of Apocalypse, creating paintings shot through with dread and fear of death. It is no wonder that Zeev Kun, who himself survived the nightmare of Auschwitz and Buchenwald, was so overwhelmed by the works of Fuchs, who happened to be his peer.
Upon his return to Israel, Zeev Kun joined the Israeli Painters and Sculptors Association.
In 1973 he was awarded the prestigious Max Nordau Prize for Arts. His paintings have gained acclaim from art lovers in the Israeli non-Jewish sector, as well; they have been sold by their Alkara Art Gallery in
Daliyat al-Karmel
Daliyat el-Karmel ( ar, دَالِيَةِ ٱلْكَرْمِل, he, דַלְיַת אֶל-כַּרְמֶל, "vineyards ( دالية) of Carmel") is a Druze town located on Mount Carmel in the Haifa District of Israel, around 20 km southeas ...
, Israel's largest Druze town.
Exhibitions and works
His perfectly mastered technique allowed him to accomplish a wide range of artistic goals, as he came up with philosophic and allegoric interpretations of the Holocaust and its ever-present memory, never to be overshadowed by the Jewish national revival in Israel and in a number of countries hosting Jewish diasporas. He exhibited in many Israeli cities (e.g.
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, 1954,
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 2014), and
Nahariya (1988), as well as in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
(1960),
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
(1962, 1972, 1994),
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
(1965),
Sydney (1967),
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
(1968),
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
(1968),
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
(1970),
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
(1972),
Stockholm (1975),
Antwerp (1976) and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
(1987). For many years, the painter worked in Safed, where he held his own gallery, but later he returned to Tel Aviv, where he has lived ever since.
Zeev Kun's works have been successfully sold by leading Israeli auction houses on many occasions, including "Tiroche", "Matsart", "Montefiore", "Egozi" and others. According to art critic professor G.Recanat, Zeev Kun's paintings have always been highly appreciated and valued by art collectors and art lovers.
[Zeev Kun. Peintures. Paris: Galerie Marigny, 1972.]
References
External links
The Art of Zeev Kun (the painter's semi-official Web page)International famous artist Zeev Kun returns with a new exhibition: Brave New World. Press Release. Tel Aviv: David Art Gallery, April 21, 2014.(in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
)
Invitation to the exhibition "Brave New World" by Zeev Kun, Prima Gallery, Tel Aviv, 16.01.2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kun, Zeev
1930 births
20th-century Israeli painters
21st-century Israeli painters
Israeli contemporary artists
People from Nyíregyháza
Hungarian Jews
Auschwitz concentration camp survivors
Flossenbürg concentration camp survivors
Hungarian emigrants to Israel
Fantastic art
Fantastic realism
Jewish painters
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna alumni
Living people