ABOUT George Goldstein and Tapesty ...
Georges Goldstein
In 1964 the first weaving studio was inaugurated in Israel, in the new city of Nazareth Ilit. With the encouragement of my master Jean Lurcat, I took the chair, and during the four ensuing years I worked with a team of forty artisans; consequently, dozens of tapestries were created, woven upon several contemporaneous masters’ original sketches, such as Jean Lurcat, Hanz Hartung, Adolf Gottlieb, Karel Apel, Yaakov Agam, Mordechai Ardon, Reuben Rubin, Danny Caravan, and more.
Some of these tapestries encountered their moments of glory during the international exhibitions, such as in the Museum of Modern Art (NY), “Expo Montreal” (Canada), Biennale of Lausanne (Switzerland), and others.
In 1967, after the Six-Day War, Nazareth’s workshop closed its doors and returned to Jerusalem, where I opened a new studio with a young team made up of eighteen artisans, dedicating their work more specifically towards Israeli artists. The tapestries are woven upon the original sketches of Mordechai Ardon, Reuben Rubin, Yohanan Simon, Naftali Bezem, Georges Goldstein…. and illustrate the art of amateurs and experts in residence: Jesselson, Bloomfield, Irwin Shapiro, Talensky, Recanati, … They can be seen on the walls of the Israeli President’s residence, the Yeshiva University of New York, the University of Haifa, New York Bank Discount, as 60-square meter tapestries for the Share Zedeq Medical Center, Jerusalem, and in ceremonial art. Tapestries for Parochet and Tora mantles are in Washington, Bet-El Springfield, Babson College, Boston, Bet-El Univ. Andover, Bet-El Highland Park and the Strasbourg Great Synagogue …
Looking back over these past four decades, I believe we can be proud of what we have accomplished. In 1968, the fledging art and crafts center of Hutzot Hayotzer was little more than a rubble-strewn lane just beneath the walls of the newly liberated Old City; later on, it became a prestigious venue, occupied by some of Jerusalem’s best artisans. As pioneers of traditional tapestry weaving in Israel, we ourselves have provided a workshop and showcase for the authentic techniques developed centuries ago in Aubusson and Gobelin, and lauded by artists from Michelangelo to Chagall. Through us, Israel’s outstanding painters have gained an appreciation of the extraordinary quality of our medium, and the tapestries they have designed specifically for us, adorn a multitude of private and public spaces here and abroad. We like to believe that, in some way, these comprise our own contribution to Israel’s artistic and cultural life.
This beautiful story of tapestries has unfolded over the last forty years. In spite of the dramatic events that the state of Israel encounters nowadays, and through the unpredictable cycles of artistic valuation, the Jerusalem workshop is attempting to keep alive the ultimate vestiges of an art that was already flourishing during the Tabernacle’s construction in the desert.
I am pleased to say that our studio retains several sketches, signed and unfinished, and a few drafts of projects, which will still yield new and magnificent tapestries. Some examples may be seen in the accompanying photographs. Acquiring such tapestries can be an important long-term cultural and financial decision that benefits not only the weavers’ workshop, but also the purchaser
Some of these tapestries encountered their moments of glory during the international exhibitions, such as in the Museum of Modern Art (NY), “Expo Montreal” (Canada), Biennale of Lausanne (Switzerland), and others.
In 1967, after the Six-Day War, Nazareth’s workshop closed its doors and returned to Jerusalem, where I opened a new studio with a young team made up of eighteen artisans, dedicating their work more specifically towards Israeli artists. The tapestries are woven upon the original sketches of Mordechai Ardon, Reuben Rubin, Yohanan Simon, Naftali Bezem, Georges Goldstein…. and illustrate the art of amateurs and experts in residence: Jesselson, Bloomfield, Irwin Shapiro, Talensky, Recanati, … They can be seen on the walls of the Israeli President’s residence, the Yeshiva University of New York, the University of Haifa, New York Bank Discount, as 60-square meter tapestries for the Share Zedeq Medical Center, Jerusalem, and in ceremonial art. Tapestries for Parochet and Tora mantles are in Washington, Bet-El Springfield, Babson College, Boston, Bet-El Univ. Andover, Bet-El Highland Park and the Strasbourg Great Synagogue …
Looking back over these past four decades, I believe we can be proud of what we have accomplished. In 1968, the fledging art and crafts center of Hutzot Hayotzer was little more than a rubble-strewn lane just beneath the walls of the newly liberated Old City; later on, it became a prestigious venue, occupied by some of Jerusalem’s best artisans. As pioneers of traditional tapestry weaving in Israel, we ourselves have provided a workshop and showcase for the authentic techniques developed centuries ago in Aubusson and Gobelin, and lauded by artists from Michelangelo to Chagall. Through us, Israel’s outstanding painters have gained an appreciation of the extraordinary quality of our medium, and the tapestries they have designed specifically for us, adorn a multitude of private and public spaces here and abroad. We like to believe that, in some way, these comprise our own contribution to Israel’s artistic and cultural life.
This beautiful story of tapestries has unfolded over the last forty years. In spite of the dramatic events that the state of Israel encounters nowadays, and through the unpredictable cycles of artistic valuation, the Jerusalem workshop is attempting to keep alive the ultimate vestiges of an art that was already flourishing during the Tabernacle’s construction in the desert.
I am pleased to say that our studio retains several sketches, signed and unfinished, and a few drafts of projects, which will still yield new and magnificent tapestries. Some examples may be seen in the accompanying photographs. Acquiring such tapestries can be an important long-term cultural and financial decision that benefits not only the weavers’ workshop, but also the purchaser