Portrait of the Artist: Itzchak Tarkay

A painter, a watercolorist, a graphic artist...in my opinion, Tarkay is a fantastic example of contemporary figurative art.

I progressed to beng a Tarkay fan sort of the same way art progressed from Impressionism to post-Impressionism to figurative art. In other words, I took the same journey. I started with the Impressionists, and for a while, Monet et al were my favorites. Then, my tastes changed and I preferred the brighter, more geometric styles of the post-Impressionists. Then I found Tarkay and learned about figurative art. My Monet-Matisse-Tarkay serigraphs hang in the same room, sort of in order of discovery.

I think Tarkay is one of the softer, more gentle prodders when it comes to the expressive portion of figurative art. His work looks lazy and relaxed to me, in general. The ladies, posed lounging, often at cafe tables, remind me of the Sunday afternoon I'd like to have. I heard once that their somnolence is actually respect for the lost.

See, Itzchak Tarkay, born in 1935, was sent with his family to the Mathausen Concentration Camp when he was nine. He was freed by the Allies a year later, and his family immigrated to Israel in 1949, where they joined a kibbutz.

By Julie Pippert
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