Art and designאהרון אפריל

Aharon April

Aharon April was an Israeli painter and sculptor, born in Lithuania, who settled in Jerusalem in 1972.

1932 to 2020Expressive symbolist paintingBiblical themes in paintingRunning the Sa-Nur artists' village

Born: 15 June 1932, Vilkaviškis
Died: 14 February 2020, Jerusalem
Occupation: painter, sculptor, artist
Education: Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture

Aharon April was born in 1932 in Vilkaviškis

April was born in 1932 in Vilkaviškis, Lithuania, to a Jewish family. In 1941 the family was exiled to Siberia, where he spent his youth.

He studied at an art school in Moscow until the period of the Doctors' Plot, when he was sent back to Siberia. He finished an art school in Yakutsk. After his release from exile in 1953 he moved to Moscow and graduated from the Surikov Academy of Fine Arts in 1960.

He showed his work in exhibitions in the Soviet Union and abroad. In 1972 he immigrated to Israel and settled in Jerusalem. He taught art at the University of Haifa, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Bezalel until 1983.

From 1991 to 1999 he ran the Sa-Nur artists' village in northern Samaria. His style moved from figurative painting to expressive symbolism, often with biblical themes. He held solo exhibitions in Europe, North America and Russia.

He received the Ish-Shalom Prize in 2001 and became an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts in 2005. He died in 2020.