caption movement death_date birth_place imagesize nationality field birth_date image article_title name
avraham ofek photographer : stanley i. batkin israeli art january 14 , 1990 burgas , bulgaria 180px israeli painting & sculpture august 14 , 1935 avraham ofek.jpg avraham ofek
 avraham ofek
avraham ofek

avraham ofek -lrb- august 14 , 1935 -- january 14 , 1990 -rrb- was an israeli sculptor , muralist , painter and printmaker .
born in burgas , bulgaria , he immigrated to israel in 1949 , where he lived in ein hamifratz , a kibbutz near haifa .
he studied at the academy of fine arts in florence , as well as in spain and in london , and later taught art in jerusalem before being appointed head of the art department at the university of haifa .
he was one of the founders of the levitan group of artists , and he exhibited internationally , receiving many prizes and representing israel at the venice biennale in 1972 .
avraham ofek 's early paintings contained portrayals of landscape that were at once lyrical and rugged ; later in his career , most depictions of the landscape appeared as undefined and receded into the background .
near the end of his life , however , the actual landscape of jerusalem returned to assume an important role in ofek 's work , this time embodied in images that reflect the loss and despair that engulfed the artist .
many of ofek 's landscapes are laden with a sense of alienation and solitude , as well as nostalgia for the city of his birth , sofia .
his murals can be seen across israel , notably at kfar uria and the central post office building -lrb- jerusalem -rrb- .
his sculpture `` the binding of isaac '' is on view at the entrance to safra square .
in 1989 the jerusalem print workshop issued a collection of reproductions of his prints edited by uri katz , with commentary in hebrew and english .
