Yankel Ginsburg Israeli / American, b. 1945
Yankel Ginzburg composes with light as others do with music, arranging geometry, color, and space into quiet harmonies. His work transforms structure into poetry, where modern form becomes a vessel for clarity, balance, and contemplation.
Yankel Ginzburg was born in 1945 in Alma-Ata (then part of the Soviet Union) to a family with a complex heritage; his parents served in the Russian Army, and his maternal grandfather was Marshal Georgi Zhukov of Red Army fame. Ginzburg did not learn of his Jewish background until the age of nine, shortly before his family emigrated to Israel in the late 1950s. There, he became the youngest student admitted to the prestigious Tel Aviv Academy of Art, graduating with honors in the mid-1960s and selling his first work at nineteen.
Following military service and early success in Israel and Italy, Ginzburg moved to the United States for his first major solo exhibition, which was co-sponsored by Israeli and American dignitaries. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he became known for his printmaking and innovative use of serigraphy, producing works that art historians have described as post-cubist and constructivist. His explorations across painting, tapestries, serigraphic sculpture, and other media earned him awards including international quality medals and significant solo shows in cities such as New York, Washington, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.
Beyond his artistic production, Ginzburg participated in cultural and humanitarian initiatives, including founding The Fund for Democracy and Development, which provided extensive aid to communities in the former Soviet Union. His works have been commissioned for events of national significance and collected by prominent figures internationally. Today, he is recognized as an important figure in modern American and international art, with a legacy spanning decades of creative exploration, public exhibitions, and cross-cultural engagement.