Park West Gallery Presents Art Collection of Yaacov Agam

(PRWeb) March 7, 2007 -- Park West Gallery Artist Biography series invites you to experience the visually fascinating works of the "Father of Kinetic Art", Yaacov Agam. As the pioneer of this new art form, kinetic art, Agam incorporates movement and the concept of change into his two and three-dimensional drawings, ceramics, sculpture, stained glass, serigraphy, lithography, and etchings. As the creator of an innovative technique called an "Agamograph," through a multiple series of images viewed through a lenticular lens, Agam is able to create change at every angle viewed and has allowed his unique concept to be appreciated by collectors world-wide.

The son of an Orthodox Rabbi, Agam was born on May 11, 1928 in Rishon Letzion, Israel. He began his artistic training in Jerusalem at the Bezalel School and later studied under Bauhaus color-theoretician, Johannes Itten. Though he did not speak French at the time, Agam moved to Paris in 1951 and had his first exhibition within the first few years, for which he was well received.

Following his first exhibition in Paris, Agam's body of work has been displayed in many major museum shows and he has been the recipient of many awards including: Prize for Artistic Research, Sao Paolo, Brazil, 1963; Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et Letters, 1974; Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, 1975; and the Medal of the Council of Europe, 1977.

In 1980 the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York held the retrospective exhibition, "Beyond the Visible" and Agam's artwork continues to be part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs; and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, (modern and contemporary art, Smithsonian Institution), Washington D.C.

His commissions include "Homage to Mondrian," Le Mondrian Hotel, Los Angeles, 1985; "Reflection and Depth," Port Authority of New York; Synagogue Design and Civic Center, Ben-Gurion University, 1979; the "Villa Regina" sculptural tower in Miami; "3 x 3 Interplay," Julliard School of Music at Lincoln Center, New York City; the "Salon Agam," Elysee Palace in Paris, Residence of the President of France; and "Three Hundred Gates," at the mansion residence of the President of Israel in Jerusalem.

Agam's artwork is deeply rooted in his Jewish faith and he writes extensively about his art and has several publications dedicated to his imagery, concepts, and exhibitions including, "Agam" by Frank Popper, published by Harry Abrams; and "Art and Judiasm" by Yaacov Agam and Bernard Mandelbaum, published by B.L.D. Limited, 1981.

Integrating formalist art with the study of Hebrew mysticism, cabala, Agam offers his audience a captivating visual experience either by manual transformation of the work or by physically passing the work and viewing the image change at various angles.

Says Agam, "I invite the viewer to come close, to touch, to move, to do, to participate actively in a changing experience. He or she is, as it were, a partner with the artist in the creation because each moment of someone's response to and involvement in my work is different from the next moment of a different vantage point, and different from the next person's and different from mine."

Park West Gallery of Michigan founded in 1969 are America's largest art dealer, selling more individual artworks than any other art dealer in the United States. Since 1980, the company has occupied its own 63,000 sq ft art gallery and in 2002, Park West built a 181,000 sq ft distribution center and gallery in Miami Lakes, Florida. Park West Gallery conducts auctions across North America in fine hotels and maintains an active catalog and internet sales business. Park West Gallery is also the largest art dealer conducting auctions at sea and currently conducts auctions on more than 60 ships for the following cruise lines: Carnival Cruise Lines; Celebrity Cruises Inc.; Disney Cruise Line; Holland America Line; Radisson Seven Seas Cruises; Royal Caribbean International; Windstar Cruises. In addition to Agam, discover the Park West Gallery Biography of artist Otto de Souza Aguiar.

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