Renowned Israeli artist Moshe Gershuni dead at 80

Moshe Gershuni, one of Israel's most influential artists, died on Sunday at the age of 80.

Gershuni was a painter and a sculptor known for his controversial Holocaust-themed work that juxtaposed themes of bereavement, homoerotic sexuality, and Israeli nationalism.

In 2003, he was awarded the Israel Prize for Painting, but the prize was revoked over his refusal to attend the awards ceremony and shake hands with then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Education Minister Limor Livnat.

Gershuni was born in Tel Aviv in 1936 to Yona and Zvi Kutner, who had immigrated to Israel from Poland. He was raised in a secular household, but sent to a religious school. His religious Jewish education was reflected years later in his artwork.

Dr. Amitai Mendelsohn, curator of Israeli art at the Israel Museum, said Gershuni "successfully incorporated Jewish motifs and quotes from [Jewish] sources with homoerotic references in an uncommon manner. When he created these artistic combinations in the 1980s, via bold images and use of color, he shocked the Israeli art world. His death is a great loss to the art world and to me personally."

Gershuni also taught at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and at Beit Berl College, and was known for his heavy political and social involvement.

Naomi Givon, owner of the Givon Gallery in Tel Aviv that represented Gershuni for the past 37 years, described him as a "special individual, an intellectual, and a man of culture and music. He was our national artist."

Gershuni's work received much critical acclaim. He held his first solo exhibition at the Israel Museum in 1969, and in 1979 he exhibited his paintings at the Venice Biennale, considered one of the most important art exhibitions in the world.

Gershuni asked to be cremated and that no funeral services be held. He is survived by his sister and three children, two of whom, Uri and Aram Gershuni, are also artists.

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