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anielle Peleg re-
members the first
time she saw the
work of Israeli art-
ist Itzchak Tarkay
about six years ago.
It was in her home-
land of Israel, and
she knew then what
has been proved over
and over again, that this
new young artist would
one day be popular not just
in Israel, but all over the world.
"I wanted to get tons of his work,"
she said from her West Bloomfield
gallery. "It's the sunlight, the use of
colors. It was and is so upbeat, so up-
lifting. It was just different from the
start. And since he's come on the scene,
I don't think there is anyone else like
him."
Ms. Peleg said she encouraged the
artist to continue his style of drawing
and painting. What she learned early
on was that Detroiters as well as col-
lectors all over the United States would
be hungry for what Tarkay produced.
But what annoyed the gallery own-
er was soon after Tarkay's success, oth-
er Israeli artists jumped on his
bandwagon, trying, she said, to imitate
Tarkay by taking his style and calling
it their own.
That was years ago. Today, with
nearly every high-end commercial
art gallery in the United States, as
well as many in Japan, South
Africa, England, Paris, Madrid, and
London, carrying his work, Tarkay is
considered one of the hottest artists
in the world. His vivid, decorative
paintings and limited editions, which
are often compared to those of Matisse
and Toulouse Lautrec, generate about
$8 million annually from world mar-
kets, according to his publisher, Lon-

H-

Alyssa Gabbay is a freelance writer

1 0

from Baltimore.

It's colorful.
It's cheerful.
Find it's hot.
But is the decorative art
of Itzchak Tarkay
and co. all style
and no substance?

ALYSSA GABBAY

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

don Contemporary Art. His posters
can be found in such well-known and
far-flung stores as Pier One and
other large outlets.
At the same time that Tarkay's
been making such a splash in Amer-
ican and European markets, so have
other Israelis, many of whom paint in
a similar style. Artists such as Itzchak
Maimon, Zule, and Bracha Guy are
represented in galleries across the
country. At March's Artexpo, an an-
nual mid-market New York fair that
brings together exhibitors, gallery
owners, and the public, a group of 23
Israeli artists showed their work — a

larger contingent than that of any oth-
er country.
"If you were looking for them, you
would be impressed by the number of
Israeli exhibitors," says Debra Green-
berg, a spokeswoman for Artexpo.
"Israelis have definitely made in-
roads into the art market recently,"
says Steven Romm of Romm Art Cre-
ations, a New York-based corporation
which publishes Tarkay posters.
"They're fads, they're what people
want now. How long it will last, I don't
know."
The Israel Embassy in Washington
could provide no statistics on the

amount of money this form of art is
bringing into Israel.
Art insiders like Ms. Peleg ac-
knowledge that Israeli artists have be-
come big business, grossing hundreds
of thousands of dollars a year. Israeli
artists are showing an emphasis on
Parisian-looking scenes. She added,
however, that in the world art market,
Israeli artists are still behind the Eu-
ropean painters.
Ms. Peleg said that Israeli artists are
reaching a stage in development where
they are choosing whether or not to en-
ter the museum or commercial world.
Museum quality works offer a differ-
ent, perhaps higher level of sophisti-
cation, she said. Tarkay, she said, has
the ability to enter both worlds, that's
how good he is.
The art movement in Israel might
come as a surprise to those who think
of Israeli art as watercolors of Jeru-
salem and mezuzot.
Paintings or artists such as Tarkay,
Maimon and Patricia make people feel
good and feel involved with art, said
Ms. Peleg. She added that art galleries
showing the Israeli artists find them-
selves not just in a role of sales, but
even more so, in a role of educating the
public to the new movement.
More and more Israeli artists, seek-
ing a broader appeal, are shifting
away from work that is identified
strictly with the Jewish state or with
Judaism. Judaica is sold primarily to
Jews while this type of work is selling
all over the world.
But the spirit of Israel is inherent
The spirit of Israel is inherent in the
work of the artists, said one collector.
"The Israelis are fighters, they don't
give up and they put that in their
paintings. They paint with passion,
there is a sense of life."
Stan Lansky, who owns five Tarkay
watercolors, says he fell in love with
the artist's work. He also owns works
by the kinetic artist Agam
among his collection of 40 artists,

