Jan Rauchwerger (b. 1942), Reflection, 1975.
Pastel on paper. Signed and dated.
48X57 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes to edges. Framed.
Jan Rauchwerger (b. 1942), native of Baýramaly, Turkmenistan, to where his parents had escaped during World War II. Following the war, the family returned to Kiev, Ukraine. Received early training in art at the Painting Department of the high school associated with the Kiev Academy of Arts. Continued his studies at the Faculty of Applied Graphic Arts at the Moscow Polygraphic Institute. From 1965 to 1973, studied under the artist Vladimir Weisberg. Immigrated to Israel in 1973. A few months after arriving in Israel, began teaching art at the Avni Institute in Tel Aviv, and, in the 1908s, taught in addition at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. Presented his works in dozens of exhibitions at museums and galleries in Israel and around the world, and was awarded distinguished prizes for his art.
"Jan Rauchwerger's passion for painting endows almost everything in his immediate surroundings with the ‘right’ to be a subject. This includes family members as well as still-life objects, landscapes, figures, models … It might seem as if his list of subjects reiterates the standard curriculum of any art school. But once in the care of Rauchwerger's paintbrush, these subjects become part of a special relationship infused with intimacy and closeness. The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘intimate’ as ‘inmost, most inward, deep-seated’ and also as ‘close in acquaintance and association.’ Roget’s Thesaurus connects the word ‘intimacy’ with ‘privacy, ’ ‘interior, ’ and ‘sentiment.’ The way in which Rauchwerger looks at the content of a house, along with the people in it, creates just this kind of closeness and defines a type of painting that is constantly nourished by a warm, direct emotional attachment to the flow and stream of the present. The artist stands facing the living reality at any given moment, gathering the world into his own intimate space…”
From Tali Tamir, "In Praise of Intimacy: Jan Rauchwerger and Israeli Culture, " in: Ruth Apter-Gabriel (curator and ed.), "Shades of Feeling: Jan Rauchwerger, Works from 1979 to 2003," exhibition catalogue, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2004 (Hebrew and English).
Provenance: The Rami Cohen Collection.

Art collector Rami Cohen (1941-2018), native of Poland, immigrated to Israel with his family in 1948. Educated in Moshav Nahalal, he began painting already in his youth. Served as a soldier in the Israel Defense Forces' standing army, and was decorated for the act of evacuating wounded soldiers under fire. Cohen was injured his right hand in the course of his army service, the injury leaving him disabled and unable to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. Nevertheless, he never lost his love for art, and the adversity he experienced simply led him to change direction from artist to art collector, and to devote much of his strength and wealth toward assembling his collection, leading him to become a passionately involved participant and a dominant influence in a number of different artistic circles. He organized and curated various art exhibitions, including, for example, "Nation Builds Land: Israeli History as Mirrored through Art" (1988) at the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. His collection includes portraits by Yehezkel Streichman and Menashe Kadishman who personally presented them to him as gifts, as a token of their friendship. He similarly established close friendships with many other artists. Ensuring that Israeli art command the respect it deserved was high among his lifelong list of priorities, as was the challenge of enabling artists to thrive and prosper; to that end, he lent his personal assistance to artists seeking to advance their professional careers. He took a special interest in artists such as Michail Grobman, Shmuel Ackerman, and others arriving in Israel from the former Soviet Union, and helped bring them into the public spotlight. Initiated and edited the online database entitled "Omanut Israel" (or "Art 23,") which included articles and media reviews in addition to a great deal of professional material relating to the Israeli art scene, being utilized by professional and government bodies. His collection is multi-faceted and richly diverse, consisting of artworks by both Israeli and non-Israeli artists, representing a broad spectrum of artistic styles, schools, and trends – a collection that reflects significant and fascinating developments in the field of Israeli art over a period of several decades, all from the point of view of a true lover of art.