Yaacov Agam

Israeli, b. 1928

2k followers

Yaacov Agam

Bio

Israeli, b. 1928

Followers
2k
Biography

Op art pioneer Yaacov Agam’s abstract artworks—which range from painting, sculpture, drawing, and ceramics, to stained glass and etching—typically incorporate light, sound, or viewer participation. The son of an orthodox rabbi, Agam first trained as an artist in Jerusalem, going on to combine formalist art with kabbalistic mysticism, and he is credited with introducing geometric abstraction to Israeli art. Agam’s best known series of works, comprised of painted strips that appear to shift and oscillate as viewers alter their points of view, would become known as “Agamographs.” He has also produced public commissions, including the world’s largest menorah, installed in New York City, and Star of Peace for Ben-Gurion university that fused the five-pointed star of Islam with the six-pointed Star of David. Agam met and was influenced by the Bauhaus artist and teacher Johannes Itten in Zurich, and also cites Wassily Kandinsky’s abstraction as an influence on his practice.

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Career Highlights
Learn more about artist insights.
Blue chip status
Blue chip representation
Represented by internationally reputable galleries.
Group
Group show at a major institution
Centre Pompidou, and 1 more
Institution
Collected by a major institution
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Fair
Included in a major biennial
Venice Biennale International Exhibition, and 1 more
Biography

Op art pioneer Yaacov Agam’s abstract artworks—which range from painting, sculpture, drawing, and ceramics, to stained glass and etching—typically incorporate light, sound, or viewer participation. The son of an orthodox rabbi, Agam first trained as an artist in Jerusalem, going on to combine formalist art with kabbalistic mysticism, and he is credited with introducing geometric abstraction to Israeli art. Agam’s best known series of works, comprised of painted strips that appear to shift and oscillate as viewers alter their points of view, would become known as “Agamographs.” He has also produced public commissions, including the world’s largest menorah, installed in New York City, and Star of Peace for Ben-Gurion university that fused the five-pointed star of Islam with the six-pointed Star of David. Agam met and was influenced by the Bauhaus artist and teacher Johannes Itten in Zurich, and also cites Wassily Kandinsky’s abstraction as an influence on his practice.

Career Highlights
Learn more about artist insights.
Blue chip status
Blue chip representation
Represented by internationally reputable galleries.
Group
Group show at a major institution
Centre Pompidou, and 1 more
Institution
Collected by a major institution
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
Fair
Included in a major biennial
Venice Biennale International Exhibition, and 1 more
Shows Featuring Yaacov Agam
Articles Featuring Yaacov Agam
19 Collectors on the Art They Bought in 2020
Nov 24th, 2020
19 Collectors on the Art They Bought in 2020
How Op Artists of the 1960s Created Their Hallucinatory Effects
Aug 21st, 2018
How Op Artists of the 1960s Created Their Hallucinatory Effects
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