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Draft:Joseph Kapelyan

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Joseph Kapelyan
Иосиф Хаймович Капелян
יוסף קפליאן
Born (1936-07-04) July 4, 1936 (age 90)
Babruysk, Byelorussian SSR, USSR
CitizenshipSoviet, Israeli
EducationLeningrad Art and Pedagogical College
Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute
Belarusian State Academy of Arts
Known forPrintmaking, Graphic arts, Painting, Poster design, Watercolor, Ex libris
AwardsInternational Nicholas Roerich Prize (2016)

Joseph Kapelyan (born 4 July 1936) is a Belarusian and Israeli artist who specializes in graphics, painting, poster, and watercolor.[1] He is a founder and the first chairman of the Association of Professional Artists of Israel (2003–2008)[2] and a recipient of the International Nicholas Roerich Award (2016)[3].

Biography

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Joseph Kapelyan was born on 4 July 1936 in Bobruisk to the family of a stove-setter, Chaim Kapelyan[4]. During World War II, he and his family were evacuated to the city of Troitsk in the southern Urals[4]. In 1947, he returned to his hometown and began attending the art studio of the Bobruisk House of Pioneers under Boris Fyodorovich Belyayev [1].

Education

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From 1952 to 1956, he studied at and graduated from the Leningrad Art-Graphic Pedagogical College, where his teachers included K. Kardobovsky, E. Antipova, and A. Mordvinova[4]. From 1959 to 1960, he studied at the graphic arts department of the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute[1]. Between 1961 and 1966, he continued his education and graduated from the graphics department of the Belarusian State Theatre and Art Institute in Minsk (now the Belarusian State Academy of Arts)[5]. During his studies in Minsk, his mentors were Pavel Lyubomudrov, Arlen Kashkurevich, Aleksandr Mozalev, Semyon Gerus, Mai Dantsig, and Aleksandra Posledovich. His graduation project was a series of seven linocuts titled "War and Children"[1].

Soviet career

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Starting in 1961, Kapelyan began working for the Belarus State Publishing House, where he designed and illustrated over 130 books, including Debut B and Po Ilyichu sveryaya shag (Checking the Step by Ilyich) by B. Sokolsky.[5][6]

From 1962 to 1965, he worked as a graphic artist for the republican newspaper Selskaya Gazeta (The Rural Newspaper), and from 1965 to 1967, at the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War.[5]

Kapelyan utilized various techniques in his easel and book graphics, such as linocut, etching, and lithography. His graphic series from this period include War and Children, Space, Partisans, Heroes of Sholem Aleichem, Ghetto, Proverbs, and Lukoml Hydro-Power Station.[4][5]

In 1962, he was admitted to the Artists' Union of the USSR, remaining a member until 1978.[1][5] He took part in Soviet and regional art exhibitions, and was awarded professional prizes for book design and illustration in 1970 and 1975.[5]

Israeli career

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In 1980, Kapelyan immigrated to Israel. From 1981, he worked for 25 years as a graphic artist at the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, documenting archaeological finds.[4] In 1987, he co-founded the Sa-Nur artists' village in Samaria and participated in its annual exhibitions.[1]

During his time at Sa-Nur, Kapelyan created a series of paintings titled Family Album, which was exhibited at the Safrai Gallery in Tel Aviv, and in 1989 at the Stephen S. Wise Arts Center in Los Angeles. Art critic M. Zaborov used the term "daguerromantism" to describe these works. Later works from this series were exhibited in Netanya in 2006.[4]

In 1996, Kapelyan joined the Agni Yoga (Living Ethics) society in Netanya, and his subsequent artwork was influenced by esoteric and philosophical themes.[4] In the 2000s, he designed and created 25 illustrations for the poetry collection Wings of Light by Israeli composer Aaron Kotlyar.[4]

Kapelyan was the primary initiator behind the creation of the Association of Professional Artists of Israel, serving as its first chairman from 2003 to 2008.[3] In 2016, his works were exhibited at the Saint Petersburg State Roerich Family Museum-Institute, and he received the International Nicholas Roerich Award in the "Artistic Creation" category.[1][3]

Throughout his career, Kapelyan has held over 59 solo exhibitions and participated in more than 302 group exhibitions.[1]

Style and works

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Kapelyan works in painting (oil, watercolor, gouache, and pastel) and printmaking (linocut, etching, lithography, silkscreen, and woodcut)[7] . During his career in Israel, his style incorporated elements of symbolism and metaphorical art.[4]

In 1999, art critic Miriam Or published the monograph Joseph Kapelyan: Art, Reality and Mysticism, which features 1,469 black-and-white and 115 color reproductions of the artist's work.[8] In her monograph, Miriam Or noted the lyrical structure of Kapelyan's paintings, describing his use of lines and colors as analogous to poetic rhymes and stanzas.[9]

Art historian Grigory Ostrovsky analyzed Kapelyan's work in the preface to the artist's monograph, writing that his style combines elements of everyday realism, spiritual values, and cosmogonic abstraction utilizing a strong command of color and drawing.[8]

Kapelyan was also featured as one of three Israeli artists included in the 2004 Polish anthology Selected Outstanding Jewish Painters[10].

His painting and graphic series include[11]:

  • Family Album (also known as Large Family) — painted in a style termed "daguerromantism" by critics.[12]
  • Drypoint Etchings — a series of printmaking works in the drypoint technique, including Angels (2006), Book of Esther (2008), Stars (2009), Flowers (2008), Fantasies (2009), and Ancient Jerusalem (2009).[13]
  • Wings of Light — a collection of suprematist book graphics designed for the esoteric poetry of Aaron Kotlyar, influenced by the tenets of Agni Yoga.[12]

Museum collections

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Kapelyan's works are held in various public museum collections and national galleries, including:

  • Astrakhan State Art Gallery named after P.M. Dogadin (Astrakhan, Russia)[14]
  • Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War (Minsk, Belarus)[5]
  • Bobruisk Art Museum (Bobruisk, Belarus)[5]
  • State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan (Kazan, Russia)[14]
  • Museum of the History of the City of Łódź (Łódź, Poland)[14]
  • Marc Chagall Museum (Vitebsk, Belarus)[14]
  • Museum of Natural History (Jerusalem, Israel)[14]
  • Museum of Contemporary Art (Zagreb, Croatia)[14]
  • National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus (Minsk, Belarus)[5]
  • National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus (Minsk, Belarus)[15]
  • National Art Museum of Azerbaijan (Baku, Azerbaijan)[14]
  • Novosibirsk State Art Museum (Novosibirsk, Russia)[14]
  • Odessa Roerich House-Museum (Odessa, Ukraine)[14]
  • Saint Petersburg State Roerich Family Museum-Institute (Saint Petersburg, Russia)[14]
  • Kharkiv Art Museum (Kharkiv, Ukraine)[14]
  • Art Fund of the Union of Artists of the USSR (Moscow, Russia)[14]
  • Chernihiv Regional Art Museum named after Hryhoriy Galagan (Chernihiv, Ukraine)[14]

Awards and recognition

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Kapelyan's awards and professional honors include:

  • 1962: First Prize for the poster "No to War!", Ministry of Culture of the Byelorussian SSR, Minsk[1]
  • 1970: Diploma for book design, Press Committee under the Council of Ministers of the Byelorussian SSR, Minsk[1]
  • 1974: Certificate of Honor from the exhibition "The Baltic – A Sea of Peace and Friendship", Kaliningrad, USSR[1]
  • 1975: Diploma for fine art printing, Union of Artists of the USSR[1]
  • 1975: Diploma for book design, Press Committee under the Council of Ministers of the Byelorussian SSR, Minsk[1]
  • 1982: Iosif Kuzkovsky Foundation Award, Municipality of Ramat Gan, Israel[16]
  • 1993: Diploma from the Ministry of Culture and Education of the Republic of Croatia[1]
  • 2006: Diploma from the Third International Graphic Art Biennale in Saint Petersburg, Russia[1]
  • 2008: Diploma from the Fourth International Graphic Art Biennale in Saint Petersburg, Russia[1]
  • 2014: Certificate of Honor for contribution to Israeli culture, Association of Professional Artists of Israel[17]
  • 2016: International Nicholas Roerich Award in the "Artistic Creation" category, Saint Petersburg, Russia[3]
  • 2025: First Prize at the Netanya Mayor's Award Exhibition, Al HaTzuk Gallery, Netanya[18]

Further reading

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  • Or, Miriam (1999). Joseph Kapelyan. Art, Reality and Mysticism. Israel: Publishing House Master Garden. p. 380.
  • Joseph Kapelyan. Painting and Graphic Art 1999–2009. Israel: Publishing House Master Garden. 2009. p. 256.
  • Joseph Kapelyan. Painting and Graphic Art 2009–2016. Israel: Publishing House Master Garden. 2016. p. 248.
  • Goldstein, Yisrael, ed. (2011). The Book of Psalms... Design and graphics editor: Joseph Kapelyan. Jerusalem: Rabbi Yisrael Goldstein.
  • Toots, N. A., ed. (2016). Tsvety sada Morii [Flowers of the Garden of Moria] (in Russian). Moscow: Delphis. p. 168.

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Капелян, Иосиф Хаймович". Энциклопедия Бобруйска (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  2. ↑ "Объединению профессиональных художников Израиля 20 лет". Иллюстрированный журнал «Культура». 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Иосиф Хаймович Капелян. Номинация «Художественное творчество»". МБФ «Рериховское наследие». 2016. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kalmykova, V. (2002). "Iosif Kapelyan: realizm i mistika v materii iskusstva" [Joseph Kapelyan: Realism and Mysticism in the Matter of Art]. Delphis (in Russian) (30 (2/2002)). Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Капелян Иосиф Хаимович". Художественная палитра Могилёвского края (in Russian). Уש״ק «Могилёвская областная библиотека им. В. И. Ленина». Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  6. ↑ "Минский художник Капелян Иосиф Хаимович". Киевский клуб коллекционеров «Соцреализм». Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  7. ↑ Petrenko, Elena; Galina Podolskaya. "Album catalog "Etchings of Joseph Kapelyan"". Odessa Roerich House Museum. Odessa Roerich Peace Pact Committee. Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  8. 1 2 Or M. Joseph Kapelyan. Art, Reality and Mysticism. — Israel, 1999. — Preface.
  9. ↑ Or 1999, p. 7.
  10. ↑ Галина Подольская (2011-09-05). "Иосиф Капелян — Юбилей!". Персональный сайт доктора Галины Подольской. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  11. ↑ Laskina, Yevgeniya (August 9, 2012). "Russian Artists on Israeli Soil – Iosif Kapelyan, Part 1". Art of the Russias (Translation from Seven Arts, No. 4 (17), April 2011). Retrieved September 9, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Podolskaya, G. (2011). "Iosif Kapelyan. Vo imya ulybki Dzhokondy" [Iosif Kapelyan. In the Name of the Mona Lisa's Smile]. Russian Literary Echo (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  13. ↑ Podolskaya, G. (2014). "Mera Mastera. Oforty Iosifa Kapelyana" [The Measure of a Master. Etchings of Iosif Kapelyan]. Masterskaya (in Russian). Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Графика художника: Иосиф Капелян". Блоги журнала «Семь искусств». 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  15. ↑ "В Национальном историческом музее открылась выставка гравюр белорусско-израильского художника Иосифа Капеляна". Издательский дом «Беларусь сегодня» (in Russian). 2018-07-13. Retrieved 2026-09-06.
  16. ↑ "פעילות יצירה ואומנות" (in Hebrew). עמותת אתיקת החיים בישראל. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  17. ↑ Анна Зарницкая (2023-07-30). "Объединению профессиональных художников Израиля 20 лет". ISRAELI CULTURE. Retrieved 2026-09-07.
  18. ↑ "Художник Иосиф Капелян «Псалмы Иосифа»". נתניהנט (Netanyanet) (in Hebrew). 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2026-09-09.
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