Amnon David Ar

Amnon David Ar was born December 12th, 1973 in Herzliyah, Israel) is an Israeli painter. He studied at the Arts and Crafts Municipal High School of Tel Aviv until the age of eighteen. After completing his compulsory military service, he studied anatomy with Oswald Adler. He then spent one year at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, before leaving, because he felt that both the training and the curriculum didn’t provide the skills and knowledge he was looking for.  For this reason, Ar decided to organize his own studies, and spent a further year learning painting and drawing with Abraham Bykov. By studying with older artists, Ar has trained himself in a traditional way, and can, at least in part, be considered an autodidact. During his studies, Ar worked as a chief illustrator and caricaturist at Maariv (newspaper) and also at Yedioth Tikshoret. Today, Ar also teaches painting and drawing, with the express intention of passing on to the next generation of artists, his experience, and with it his understanding of the artistic skills of the past.  

Amnon David Ar is best known for his rich, brightly lit, realist portraits, some of which feature mirror reflections of his crowded studio and living spaces.

In 2014 Ar moved to Berlin where he has his studio and teaches.
 

IMPORTANT COLLECTIONS

The Tel Aviv Museum of Art  
Len Balavatnic collection
Shiff collection
Druck collection 
Sabag collection
Braun collection
Shabtay collection
Brandais collection
Sir Ronald Cohen among others. 
 

EDUCATION

1993 - 1994
Studied Anatomy for the Arts with the Painter Oswald Adler.

1995
Studied at Bezalel, Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem.

1996
Studied Painting & Drawing with the Painter Abraham Bykov.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2004
Amnon David Ar - Painting, Exhibition & Catalog, The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan.

2005
Drawings & Several Paintings, Exhibition & Catalog, Bernard Gallery, Tel Aviv.

2007
Exhibition & Catalog, Galerie Vieleers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

2009
Solo exhibition - The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Solo exhibition - The Association of Painters and Sculptors - Jerusalem Artists, Jerusalem, Israel.
 

PRIZES

2008
Winner of the first "Haim Shiff" competition, Tal Aviv Museum of Art.
 

TIMELINE

1973
Born in Herzliya, Israel.

1993 - 1994
Studied Anatomy for the Arts with the painter Oswald Adler.

1995
Studied at Bezalel, Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem.

1996
Studied painting & drawing with the painter Abraham Bykov.

1990 - 1996
Freelance illustrator for book publishers, magazines, advertising agencies & the newspapers Maariv & Davar.

1996 - 2001
Yediot Tikshoret magazine network, Home Illustrator.

2002 - 2003
Maariv newspaper, home caricaturist.

2008  Painter of the Abba Eban stamp for the Israel Post.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2004
Amnon David Ar - Painting, exhibition & catalog, The Museum of Israeli  Art, Ramat Gan, Israel.

2005
Drawing & Several Paintings, exhibition & catalog, Bernard Gallery, Tel Aviv Israel.                             

2007
Exhibition & catalog, Galerie Vieleers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

2009
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, exhibition & catalog, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Solo exhibition - The Association of Painters and Sculptors – Jerusalem  Artists House, Israel.

2011
Body & Light, exhibition & catalog, Mika Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1998
Group exhibition, Bat Yam Art Museum, Israel.

1999
Group exhibition, Bezalel, Academy of Arts & Design, Jerusalem, Israel.

2000
Observation Time, exhibition & catalog, Janco Dada Museum, Ein Hod, Israel.

2002
Portraits, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel.

2005
Group exhibition, exhibition & catalog, The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Group exhibition, the Jerusalem Center for the Performing Arts, Israel.

2006
New Faces, Forum Gallery, New York, USA.
Realisme Amsterdam Fair, The Netherlands.
Arkansas Art Center, collectors show, USA.

2007
The Fine Art of Drawing – Modern & Contemporary Works on Paper, Forum  Gallery, New York, USA.

2008
Time Tunnel, exhibition & catalog, Givataim Municipal Gallery, Israel.

2010
Collections, exhibition & catalog, Haifa Museum, Israel.
Art Monaco fair, Monaco.

2011
A Road To Nowhere, exhibition & catalog, Ashdod Museum of Fine Arts, Israel.
Fresh Paint Art fair, exhibition & catalog, Tel Aviv, Israel.
True Colors, exhibition & catalog, The Soho Gallery, London, the Cube Gallery, Manchester, England.

2012
Fresh Paint art fair,exhibition & catalog, Tel Aviv, Israel.
People & Places, Medici Gallery, exhibition & catalog, London, England.
The Summer Exhibition, Medici Gallery, London, England.
Art Any Way: Exploring The Wheel, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel.

2013
Face to Face Artists' self-portraits from the collection of Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr., exhibition & catalog, Arkansas Art Center, USA.