Avi Schwartz - "Going to the Sukkah". A vibrant and expressive oil painting by Israeli artist Avi Schwartz depicting a traditional Jewish street scene centered on the pilgrimage to the sukkah. The composition shows a bearded man in a black hat and blue coat carrying a rooster for the pre-holiday ritual, accompanied by a young child, while other figures populate the background amid warm, sunlit buildings. Executed in Schwartz's distinctive, painterly style, the work features bold brushwork, saturated color, and simplified yet emotionally resonant figures, characteristic of his mature period.
The scene reflects Schwartz's lifelong engagement with Jewish life, memory, and tradition, rendered not from photographic reference but from lived experience and recollection. The palette of intense yellows, blues, and earth tones, combined with animated surface texture, evokes movement and communal life within a historic neighborhood setting. The handling of paint is confident and gestural, reinforcing the immediacy and narrative quality of the subject.
The painting is signed and dated "'02" lower left. Housed in a modern frame. Verso retains an original newspaper article from The Jerusalem Post, Arts & Entertainment section (September 14, 2018), titled "Brighter memories," discussing Schwartz's exhibition and artistic philosophy, and noting his emphasis on painting memory rather than direct observation. The work was purchased directly from the artist in connection with his 2018 exhibition in Petah Tikva, providing strong provenance.
A well-documented and evocative example of contemporary Israeli figurative painting, firmly rooted in Jewish cultural life and tradition.
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist, Petah Tikva exhibition, 2018; retains related exhibition press material on verso.
Estimated Value $200 - 300
Judaica
