Yohanan Simon b.1905, Berlin-d. 1976)

Simon studied in the studio of Max Beckman. In the late 20's he joined a circle of young painters around Andre' Derain. Later he lived in Paris until he immigrated to Palestine in 1936. From that year until 1953 he was a member of Kibbutz Gan-Shmuel. Yohanan Simon was active in the Hagana and participated in the War of Liberation. Since 1953 he has lived in Tel-Aviv. In 1954-55 and 1961 he traveled extensively in South America and the United States and during 1958-9 in Europe. Since 1962 he lived in Herzelia, Israel.

Simon's early work can be described as Social Realism, he used to paint scenery from the Kibbutz. In his mature work, after he traveled in South America, he freed himself from the social realism and became more abstract and colorful. His work was influenced by the Fauvism of Lager, Derain and Diego Rivera.

Simon died in 1976.


Source:
arttribes.com

Yochanan Simon is a German-born painter who became particularly identified with the kibbutz movement and with socialist realism. Simon was born in 1905 and in 1936 immigrated to Israel and settled in Kibbutz Gan Shmuel, where he found himself engaged in various works, but hardly painted.

At the same time, his great talent did not go unnoticed by the captains of the "National Kibbutz" and they recruited him in favor of glorifying the kibbutz movement through art. He painted posters full of pathos for the "Shomer Hatzair", paintings that present the kibbutz life as successful and in particular family scenes that combine happiness and intimacy, as well as works that glorify the value of work and the beauty of the land (in a time period defined as the "brown period"). Thus Simon was chosen to paint the official poster of the first Israeli Independence Day as well as a poster for May 1, 1950.

In 1953 Simon made another significant turning point, both in terms of lifestyle and artistic style - he separated from his first wife, moved to Tel Aviv, and began painting in his studio (located in Sderot Rothschild 125, a very short distance from the house of another famous painter, Yosl Bergner) in a completely different style from the one that characterized him in the kibbutz. His works during this period became modern, abstract, very colorful and full of optimism - mainly influenced by his journey to South America.

Towards the end of his life he even moved to surrealist paintings, in the style of Juan Miró. Simon is also known for his oversized murals to which he was exposed during his travels to New York and Italy. In 1950, he created a number of murals in universities, factories and public buildings, and even on ships of the Zim company. On his travels to South America he also created well-known murals in Brazil and Argentina.

Yohanan Simon was born in Germany and studied in Paris in the 1930s before moving to Israel in 1937. He became part of the Kibbutz Gan Shmuel and his work in the 1950s reflected the joys of daily life in the Kibbutz, influenced by his experiences in Europe and South America. Simon's art demonstrated engagement with Post-War European figurative painting and the expansiveness of the South American landscape. He exhibited internationally and in London during the 1950s, with works in collections such as the Ben Uri Gallery, the British Museum, and the Jewish Museum in New York. A retrospective dedicated to the artist was held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 2001.