The largest exhibition of Israeli art ever collected under one roof in the United States opened yesterday in Philadelphia’s Civic Center Museum. Co-sponsored by the City of Philadelphia and the Foundation for International Cultural Exchange, the “Contemporary Masters from Israel” show will continue until April 9.
According to Israeli Consul General Asher Naim, Philadelphia was selected for this unprecedented exhibit because of the Sister City relationship with Tel Aviv. It represents the first major exchange between Philadelphia Mayor Frank L. Rizzo and Tel Aviv Mayor Shlomo Lahat.
The exhibition of paintings and sculpture by contemporary Israeli artists, marking that country’s 30th anniversary, contains more than 250 examples of current work by Israel’s foremost artists. Among them are 10 scenes of Philadelphia painted by Ivan Schweble as a result of a recent visit; works by Joseph Zaritzky, the patriarch of abstract expressionist painting in Israel; colorful primitives by Shalom of Safed; and optical art by Yaacov Agam.
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