ARTIST OF THE MONTH
The Farkash Gallery is proud to present Yosl Bergner as our Artist of the Month. This exhibition brings together twenty original, hand-signed lithographs: a world of wedding celebrations, musicians, dreamlike figures, birds and everyday objects transformed by imagination. One of Israel’s most important artists, Bergner developed a distinctive Jewish style that speaks through memory, tenderness and theatre.
Born in Vienna in 1920 and raised in Warsaw, Yosl Bergner moved to Australia in 1937, fleeing the growing antisemitism in Europe. He studied at the National Gallery School in Melbourne and became part of an active circle of artists there. After leaving Australia in 1948, he travelled before settling in Israel in 1950, first in Safed and later in Tel Aviv. These journeys help frame the emotional reach of his art. Home, displacement, companionship and the fragile things people carry with them become a way of looking at his imagined worlds. His pictures can feel intimate and theatrical at once: familiar faces and objects appear within scenes that resist a single explanation.
Bergner received the Dizengoff Prize for painting in 1956 and the Israel Prize for painting in 1980. His work also extended to scenery and costumes for Yiddish and Hebrew theatre, a connection that finds an echo in the gestures, clothing and staged encounters visible throughout this collection. He is especially known for allegorical still lifes, in which ordinary utensils seem to become characters. A lamp, vessel or angular household object can suggest vulnerability, resilience or companionship without losing its familiar everyday shape.
The lithographs shown here offer different entrances into that world. Wedding Scene gathers a bride and groom beneath a red chuppah, surrounded by musicians and guests. White birds cross the sky above the rooftops, giving the celebration a dreamlike lift. Elsewhere, a figure holds green sprigs, butterflies hover beside faces and musicians occupy village streets. The images invite us to linger over gestures and relationships, discovering fresh details each time we look.
For collectors, the appeal is both visual and personal: these are images of cultural memory that can become part of daily life. The gallery describes the works as original hand-signed lithographs from the 1980s-1990s, in very good condition, framed and ready to hang, with free delivery. Each product page gives its own dimensions and price. Room and frame images on product pages are illustrative mockups; actual framing may differ and room scale is approximate. Browse all twenty works below and choose the image that speaks to your home.
Biographical reference: Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, Yosl Bergner biography. Artwork descriptions reflect the works shown in this exhibition; the title is The Farkash Gallery’s exhibition theme.
Explore the twenty lithographs
