Joshua Borkovsky
Joshua Borkovsky was born in Israel, 1952. He lives and works in Jerusalem.
Borkovsky’s work draws on a longstanding heritage of painting and on traditional techniques of painting and meticulous craftsmanship, procedures that mainly entail an aberrant slowing-down, an ongoing accumulation, and an extreme painterly endurance. These are all employed in his works so as to achieve an endless suspension of the ephemeral and the bodiless, of the passing and of what has passed long ago, of what cannot be fixated or held, of what is no longer here and perhaps never was. It is in the tensions between these polarities that their elusive presence and their extraordinary essence are situated.
His early paintings feature phantasmagoric imagery, such as the silhouettes of sailing ships and cartographic images. In his later works, this preoccupation has yielded images of crystal chandeliers reflected in mirrors, anamorphic photographs of gardens, the Echo & Narcissus cycle, the Leda and the Swan cycle, the Vera Icon cycle, and his recent cycle of paintings Apelles’ Line.
Borkovsky’s paintings also give way to uncertainty in the viewer, in that the viewer is unsure as to what he sees, the true meaning of the image, and his own interpretation of what is being displayed. Echoic of Rashomon, the viewer remains in a state of uncertainty. The doubt that is eminent to these paintings in turn becomes the doubt of the viewer, and as a result, has a powerful impact.
The work of Joshua Borkovsky has been shown extensively, including in the solo exhibitions Veronese Green at The Israel Museum, Jerusalem in 2015; The 12th Biennale de Paris, Museé d’Art Modern de la Ville de Paris in 1982; The Israel Museum, Jerusalem in 1987; The 42nd Venice Biennale, Italy in 1986; The 12th Biennale of São Paulo, Brazil in 1991; and The Ein Harod Museum of Art in 2005. Recent group exhibitions include: Love At First Sight, The Vera, Silvia and Arturo Schwarz Collection of Israeli Art, Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 2000; Culture and Continuity, The Jewish Museum, New York in 2002; Landscapes, Berlin Fair in 2003 and 2005; Water in Art and Life, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem in 2007, Adventures of Truth – Painting and Philosophy, Maeght Foundation, Saint Paul de Vence, France (curated by Bernard-Henri Levy) in 2013.
Joshua Borkovsky has received numerous prestigious awards, amongst them: The Beatrice Kolliner Prize for a Young Artist, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem in 1980; The Janet and George Jaffin Prize for Excellence in the Visual Arts, The Ministry of Education and Culture Prize in 1990; America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship in 1998; The Artistic Encouragement Prize, Ministry of Education and Culture in 2005; and The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture in 2013.
Joshua Borkovsky
1952 Born, Israel
Lives and works in Jerusalem
Education
1995-2007 Teaching at the Art History Department, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
Since 1981 Teaching at the Art Department, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem
1981-2005 Teaching at the Art Teacher’s Training College, Ramat Hasharon
1980-1981 MFA Studies, Hunter College, New York
1974-1977 BFA Studies, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2014 Mirrors, The Garden (3), photomorphosis, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
2013 Works from the Gaby and Ami Brown Collection, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
2012 Veronese Green, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Moshe Ninio (catalogue)
2009 Vera Icon, Oranim Institute for Artists Gallery, Kiryat Tivon
2006 Echo & Narcissus, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
2005 In Between, Museum of Art, Ein Harod; curator: Galia Bar Or (catalogue)
2003 Echo & Narcissus, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
2003 Anamorphosis, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
2001 Voyage, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
1998 Pin Cone, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
1994 The Death of Virgil, Artifact Gallery, Tel Aviv
1990 Gimel Gallery, Jerusalem
1988 Artifact Gallery, Tel Aviv
1987 Mirrors, The Garden, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Curator: Meira Perry-Lehman (catalogue)
1986 Art Department Gallery, Bezalel Academy, Jerusalem
1985 Aika Brown Gallery, Artists’ Studios, Jerusalem
1985 Vera Icon, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
1979 The Art Pavilion, Yarkon Park, Tel Aviv (catalogue)1981 Hunter College Gallery, New York
Grants and Awards
2017 senior artist award after the name of Arik Einstein by the Ministry of Culture and Sports
Selected International Exhibitions
1991 The Israeli Exhibit, 21st International Art Biennial, São-Paolo (catalogue)
1986 Color Territories, The Israeli Pavilion , 42nd Venice Biennale; curator: Yona Fischer (catalogue)
1982 The Israeli Exhibit, 12th International Biennial of Young Artists, Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris; curator: Mordechai Omer (catalogue)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019 25 Years to Noga Gallery of contemporary art, Tel Aviv
2019 Table, Givon Art Gallery, Tel Aviv
2018 Erotic Salon, Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv
2018 The Teacher’s Choice, Basis Gallery, Herzliya
2017 The minister of culture and sport award exhibition, herzliya art museum
2016 The yearning for myth, haifa art museum
2016 the schneller case, group exhibition, artists house, jerusaelm
2015 Israeli Art: The Renewed Collection, Group Exhibition, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
2013 Adventures of Truth, Painting and Philosophy, Maeget Foundation, Saint-Paul, France, Curator: Bernard-Henri Levy (catalogue)
2011 The Armory Show, New York Escape, Artists House, Tel Aviv; curator: Nitza Perry
2010 Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Yinka Shonibare (catalogue)
2010 What is the Political? Bat Yam Museum of Contemporary Art; curator: Maayan Amir (catalogue)
2010 High Definition, Bezalel Gallery, Tel Aviv; curators: Ruti Direktor, Yitzhak Livneh
2009 A Selection of Israeli Art from the Collection of Gaby and Ami Brown, Museum of Art, Ein Harod; curator: Galia Bar Or (catalogue)
2009 Taswir – Pictorial Mapping of Islam and Modernity, Martin-Gropius-Bau , Berlin, Curators: Almut Sh. Bruckstein Çoruh, Hendrik Budde (catalogue)
2008 Artist – Pilgrim: Travels of Research and Yearning, Nachum Gutman Museum of Art, Tel Aviv; curator: Tali Tamir ( catalogue)
2007 The Desert Generation, Artists’ House, Jerusalem; The Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv; organizers: Larry Abramson, David Tartakover, Sliman Mansour, David Reeb
2007 Water in Art and Life, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Hagit Allon
2006 Mini Israel: 70 Models, 45 Artists, One Space, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Larry Abramson (catalogue)
2006 The Ministry of Education and Culture’s Prize Winners for 2005, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Amitai Mendelsohn (catalogue)
2005 Beauty and the Book, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curators: Hagit Allon, Smadar Gafni
2005 Homage to Zvi Tolkovski, Artists House, Jerusalem; curator: Doron Livneh
2005 The Beauty of Sanctity: Masterworks from Every Age, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Yigal Zalmona
2005 Lights, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Amitai Mendelsohn (catalogue)
2003 Old-New Land: First Flowers, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Tamar Manor-Friedman
2003 Present Time 7, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Suzanne Landau
2003 Landscapes, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Amitai Mendelsohn
2002 Imagine – 300 Artists for Coexistence, Umm El-Fahem Art Gallery, Umm El-Fahem; curators: Roee Rosen, Aïm Deüelle Lüski, Said Abu Shakra (catalogue)
2002 Focus on Painting, Haifa Museum of Art, Curator: Daniela Talmor (catalogue)
2001 Local Views, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Curator: Sarit Shapira
2001 Love At First Sight: The Vera, Silvia and Arturo Schwarz Collection of Israeli Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Amitai Mendelsohn (catalogue)
2000 The Vera, Silvia and Arturo Schwarz Collection of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv; curators: Mordechai Omer, Ahuva Israel (catalogue)
2000 From the Collection of the Jewish Museum, New York, traveling exhibition in the USA; curator: Susan Tumarkin Goodman
1999 In The Name of The Land, In The Name of The Lord: Art and Realities in Jerusalem, Artists’ House, Jerusalem; curator: Ilan Wizgan (catalogue)
1999 Art Focus 3, Teddy Kollek Stadium, Jerusalem, Curator: Ilan Wizgan (catalogue)
1999 Tales of the Sands, The Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh; curators: Sarit Shapira, Graeme Murray (catalogue)
1998 Stains, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Amitai Mendelsohn
1998 To the East – Orientalism in the Arts in Israel, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (catalogue); curators: Yigal Zalmona, Tamar Manor-Friedman
1998 The Lesser Light: Images of Illumination in Contemporary Israeli Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Sarit Shapira
1997 Present Time No. 1, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem; curator: Suzanne Landau
1996 The Minister of Education and Culture’s Award for Visual Art – The First Decade, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Curator: Surin Heller (catalogue)
1996 Windows: Glimpses of Seven Themes in Israeli Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Curator: Sarit Shapira
1995 From the Rita and Arturo Schwarz Collection of Israeli Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Curator: Shlomit Steinberg
1994 Painting, Photography, Painting, The Studio Art Gallery, Yavneh
1994 A Room with Mirrors, The New Art Studio, Rishon Letzion, Curator: Kobi Harel
1994 Seven Contemporary Artists from Israel, Davis/McClain Gallery, Houston, Texas
1994 Borkovsky, Livneh, Kupferman, Mary Fauzi Gallery, Jaffa
1993 Five Artists From Israel, John C. Stoller Gallery (in collaboration with Marge Goldwater), Minneapolis
1993 Canvas Tales Artifact Gallery, Tel Aviv
1991 Art in Israel Today: Five Artists from Israel, Detroit Institute of Arts, Curator: Jan van der Marck (catalogue)
1991 Routes of Wandering: Nomadism, Journeys and Transitions in Contemporary Israeli Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Curator: Sarit Shapira (catalogue)
1991 Israeli Art Now: An Extensive Presentation, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Curator: Ellen Ginton (catalogue)
1991 Monochrome, traveling exhibition organized by Omanut La’am, Curators: Dalia Levin, Ada Na’amani
1991 Makom [Place]: Israeli Sculpture to Japan, Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan, Curator: Reviva Regev (catalogue)
1991 Perspective: New Aesthetic Concepts in the Art of the ’80s in Israel, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Curator: Dalia Manor (catalogue)
1991 Curators’ Choice, Kalisher 5 Gallery, Tel Aviv
1990 The Minister of Education and Culture’s Prize Winners for 1990, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem (catalogue)
1990 Artifacts, Artifact Gallery, Tel Aviv
1990 12 Artists, Gimel Gallery, Jerusalem
1990 The Art of Describing: Homage and Appropriation, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Curator: Yigal Zalmona
1990 Recent Acquisitions, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1989 Israeli Art: New Acquisitions, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
1989 Alef Alef at Gimel, Gimel Gallery, Jerusalem
1988 24 Israeli and Palestinian Artists, Cooper Union Gallery, New York, Curators: Yona Fischer and Kamal Boullata (catalogue)
1988 Fresh Paint: The Younger Generation in Israeli Art, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Curator: Ellen Ginton (catalogue)
1988 40 Artists from Israel, Brooklyn Museum, New York, Curator: Reviva Regev (catalogue)
1988 Drawings, Artifact Gallery, Tel Aviv
1987 Inaugural Exhibition, Artifact Gallery, Tel Aviv
1987 Israeli Art from the Collection, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
1987 Israeli Art from the Collection, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1986 Art in Israel in the ’80s, Frank Bernarducci Gallery, New York (catalogue)
1982 Here and Now, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Curator: Yigal Zalmona (catalogue)
1982 Hall 5, Artists’ House, Jerusalem, Curator: Gideon Ofrat
1981 Bertha Urdang Gallery, New York
Awards And Grants
2013 The Dizengoff Prize for Painting and Sculpture
2005 The Creation Encouragement Prize, Ministry of Education and Culture
1998 The Janet and George Jaffin Prize for Excellence in the Visual Arts, America-Israel Cultural Foundation
1990 The Minister of Education and Culture’s Prize for Painting and Sculpture
1981 Scholarship for Studies Abroad, America-Israel Cultural Foundation
1980 The Beatrice Kolliner Prize for a Young Artist, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
July 23, 2018
May 8, 2014
June 21, 2013
October 30, 2008
May 18, 2006
May 22, 2003
Recent News
Joshua Borkovsky, Pilgrimage, Mixed Media & A Gold Leaf on Fabric, 50x50cm, 1982
Joshua Borkovsky,From the Vera Icon cycle 2, distemper on gesso on wood, 120x80cm,2010-11