On l'he Bookshelf:
Will Bear Witness' .76
ssemz:
Darren Stein's
'Jawbreaker'
Israeli figurative artist
Yitzchak Tarkay
features new
works at local gallery.
LISA BRODY
Special to The Jewish News
hree women at a cafe
engrossed in intimate
- conversation. A female
figure draped in a pat-
terned skirt lounging on a chair. A
melancholy lady alone at tea.
These are snapshots of life as
seen through the eyes of Itzchak
Tarkay. More than 130 of the Israeli
artist's new and classic paintings,
serigraphs and watercolors are on
display at Park West Gallery in
Southfield through March 4.
Tarkay's works celebrate the
beauty and intimacy of women and
are noted for their vivid use of
color. His subjects, dressed in
shades of red, yellow, blue, violet
and green, sit or recline against
boldly colored backgrounds.
"I use acrylic paints because the
pigments are very strong," explained
Tarkay, who recently was in town to
open his show at Park West.
As to why one painting is boldly
red and another vividly yellow, Tarkay
responded, "There is no answer. I do
not think about what color I am
putting down. It is just coming."
Over the years, Tarkay, born in
1935 in Subotica on the Yugoslav-
Hungarian border and a survivor of
the Mathausen concentration camp,
has developed a signature style.
While some of his creations feature
landscapes or Israeli street and port
scenes, most works capture 1920s-
Itzchak Tarkay: "Barbara," acrylic on canvas.
style women, with red lips and
heavily-shadowed eyes, beautiful
and sensual but not overtly sexual.
Through the use of glazing,
which involves the layering of
acrylic paints to create texture and
transparency, Tarkay gives his
pieces a tapestry-like appearance.
His backgrounds often are as fully
developed as his figures, with lay-
ers of color adding depth and
richness to such details as the fab-
ric patterns of chairs and the
blooms of bouquets.
Often, Tarkay uses live models,
especially for his nudes. But a
favorite activity is.to sir at a cafe,
watching the women around him,
,
,,,, •■•• ............. ,..•
making sketches or photographs to
take back to his studio.
The influence of French
Impressionism, especially the paint-
ings of Matisse and the drawing
style of Toulouse-Lautrec, is evident
in all of Tarkay's art. However, he
credits three of his instructors at the
TASTE OF TARKAy on page 73