The Flower Keeper, Circa 2000

Samy Briss  

The painter, printmaker and sculptor, Samy Briss, was born in Iasi, Romania, in 1930. His mother’s encouragement steered him towards studying art at the Bucharest School of Fine Arts. He joined Camil Ressu’s studio and started to print and produce posters, whilst also getting involved with set design projects for live performances.

In 1960, faced with Communist repression, he left his country, along with his family, and moved to Israel. There, he met Marcel Janco, who introduced him to Dadaism. At that point, he started to exhibit his work, in Israel and abroad, and particularly in Paris, where he set up home in 1974. Yet, his artwork would continue to be infused with his native culture, as well as with religious iconography.

Against ochre or midnight blue backgrounds, simple characters emerge from gilded surfaces, featureless, flat, like children’s dolls. As in religious paintings, they maintain a rigid stance, despite the soft contours.

Samy Briss’ poetic and dream-like works have been exhibited in galleries across Israel, Europe, the United States and Asia, and have also featured in displays at the Jewish Museum in New York, the Palm Springs Desert Museum, and the National Art Museum in Bucharest.