Photo: © Lewora Laor

View artwork »

View exhibitions »

View videos and articles »

Visit our Information Center to browse the artist file »

Sgan-Cohen, Michael, Jerusalem, Israel, 1944-1999. Michael Sgan-Cohen was born in Jerusalem in 1944. His father was a physician and his mother an amateur painter. While he was still in school Sgan Cohen began to publish critical articles on art in newspapers such as Haaretz, Egoz, and others. Between 1969 and 1978 Sgan-Cohen lived in the United States, in Los Angeles and New York. In 1976 he began to work as an artist. During 1977 and 1978 he returned to live in Israel. Upon his return to the United States, he separated from his wife. In 1987 he came back to live in Israel permanently. Between 1988 and 1990 he published critical articles on art in the Jerusalem local newspaper, Yerushalim. In addition, for the rest of his life he published art criticism in newspapers such as Haaretz, Studio, Kav and others. He served as the curator of the retrospective exhibition of Lea Nikel (1995) and Yehiel Shemi (1997) at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. He died of an illness in 1999. The curating style of Sgan-Cohen, which he began developing in the 1970s, was expressive and unkempt, in the style of Pop Art. At the same time, the content of the works dealt with research on Judaism with regard to its relation to the visual image. Among other things, Sgan-Cohen made extensive use of textual images, both in the form of ars poetica, that is through their relation to visual works, and in ontological form, as a reflective expression of their relation to God. Among his best known works are “Hineni” (1978) and “The Striped Coat” (1981).

Education

1965-1969 The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, B.A., History of Art and Philosphy.
1969-1973 University of California, Los Angeles, USA, M.A. History of Art,
1973-City University of New York, USA, doctoral studies,
1988-City University of New York, USA, Ph.D.,

Teaching

1973-1978 – Brooklyn College, New York, USA
1977-1978 – Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem
1977-1978 – University of Haifa, Haifa
1979 – School of Visual Arts, New York, USA
1990-1998 – Art Institute – Oranim Academic College, Kiryat Tivon; Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem; Kalisher Art Academy, Tel Aviv-Yaffo

Awards And Prizes

1994-1999, Artist-in-residence, The Jerusalem Foundation, Jerusalem
1998 Ministry of Education and Culture Prize
1997 George and Janet Jaffin Prize for Excellence in Plastic Arts, America-Israel Cultural Foundation
2002-03, Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, New York, USA