Beloosesky Gallery is interested in purchasing paintings by Naftali Bezem.
Please call (917) 749-4557 or email us at info@beloosesky.com.
Naftali Bezem was born in Essen, Germany in 1924. He is most known for his reliefs at Yad Vashem in Israel of symbolic depictions the Holocaust and the return of Diaspora Jews to the Land of Israel.
Bezem’s childhood was spent under Nazi occupation, living in constant fear because of his religion. He spent time in refugee camps and in constant fear for the safety of his parents, who were later sent off to Auschwitz where they died. The artist was able to leave Germany and immigrated to Israel in 1939, at the age of fourteen. Bezem’s artistic style was greatly influenced by this early period of his life living in horror under Nazi rule.
After arriving in Israel, Bezem studied at the Bezalel School of Art in Jerusalem, where he later became a teacher.
Naftali Bezem’s work combines numerous symbols, characters, and depictions of his jewish upbringing. The compositions are often combined with elements of the Israeli landscape, endowing the work with a unique mystical quality. His paintings evoke a poeticism as he weaves theses deeply rich and personal symbols of his heritage with the natural landscape.
He has won several awards for his work, including the Dizengoff prize in 1957. His work has been shown internationally in numerous exhibitions including the Venice Biennale, the Sao Paulo Biennale, the National Museum in Jerusalem, the Haifa Museum, and the Tel Aviv Museum.