About The Artist

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Yuval Wolfson reflects on emotion, consciousness, and time through his unique artistic perspective. 

With an ability to subtly portray light and explore humanity through non-human motifs, Wolfson’s art has become a favorite among collectors around the world.

Personal History

Wolfson lives and creates in South Florida USA. Was born near Tel Aviv, Israel in 1966. He spent much of his childhood with his grandfather, award-winning poet Y.Z. Shargel. It was through his interactions with his grandfather and his creative friends that Wolfson became interested in the art world.

“I started painting at an early age when I was a little kid, like everyone paints, I just didn’t stop from there,” Wolfson says.

He considered other career paths but ultimately chose to become an artist. He earned a scholarship from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and attended the prestigious Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv.

Wolfson studied painting at the institute but left a year later to study directly under his teacher, Naftali Golomb *, for several years. Wolfson preferred this method of learning over formal study because he could focus on honing his technique.

* Naftali Golomb, painter,Chile 1930-2005 Israel, . Member of Radius Group.

Education: Studied painting with Canadian Barry Ortzki, a student of Henry Moore in Israel
Studied painting in tempera with Ernst Fuchs and Wolfgang Manner, Reichenau, Austria
Studied drawing with Esther Peretz and Avinoam Kosowsky Teaching: Avni Institute, Tel Aviv 

“I just wanted to be free, to be in my studio and paint my paintings,” Wolfson says.

To maintain that independence, Wolfson dove into the world of printmaking, working under other artists to help create their editions, including Itzchak Tarkay.

Wolfson met the legendary artist at the age of 21. Soon after they began working together they formed a friendship that ultimately led to Tarkay mentoring Wolfson. They ended up sharing studio space in the same building for many years.

Wolfson held his first solo exhibition in Norway, “Monet’s Garden.” Inspired by the paintings of famed Impressionist Claude Monet, Wolfson depicted the same flower in 24 separate paintings, each one filtered through a different hour of the day. The subtle changes in hue and light showcased Wolfson’s artistic talents and earned him recognition in both Europe and the United States.

Wolfson and his family currently reside in Hollywood, Florida.

Style and Influences

Wolfson paints in an expressionist and abstract style. His geometric shapes and patterns are broken and pieced together at colliding angles, honing the characteristics traditionally associated with Cubism. 

This analytic approach is further defined by Wolfson’s concentration on light and the passage of time. Through gentle and sensitive brushstrokes, Wolfson can effortlessly portray changing seasons and the subtleties of light. 

Wolfson does not intentionally seek to be influenced by other artists, but it does occur, noting that his style will change for months on end if he simply enters a museum. Despite this, some artists have had such an impact on Wolfson that they helped define his art style. 

 Looking back on this early stage in his career, Wolfson says it was informed by a youthful, more dramatic outlook on the world. When he turned 18, he viewed Monet’s art for the first time.

“The first time I saw Monet’s works I didn’t relate to them, I didn’t love them too much because it was too much color, too much happiness for me,” Wolfson says. “When I started looking again, I started loving Monet. I used more colors when I painted, and realized it’s still very dramatic.”

Aside from Monet, Wolfson says Tarkay’s advice, critiques, and personal stories all helped shape his style.

“He would talk about my paintings and himself, and he would tell me difficult stories of his childhood, and it influenced my art,” Wolfson says.

Wolfson’s technique has continued to transform throughout his career. Today, he prefers using broader brushstrokes and a vivid color palette while exploring more dramatic themes. Wolfson believes that this artistic evolution is a result of his changing viewpoint.

“It’s changing feelings, changing moods,” Wolfson says. “Not just to reflect what is happening outside, but to reflect what is happening inside myself.”

Wolfson never considers a painting complete. Instead, he expects his viewers to complete each artwork with a personal association, memory, or feeling. 

Recurring Subjects

Wolfson’s favorite subjects to paint are animals, landscapes, portraits, and automobiles. Wolfson uses these motifs to express human emotions and relationships without resorting to traditional portraiture.

This theme often emerges as peacocks in Wolfson’s art. While living on a farm, he found himself reflecting on love and romance while watching peacocks interact with one another. Years later, these memories would resurface when he challenged himself to paint as much as he could in the time he could hold his breath. The first time he attempted this exercise, he realized he had depicted a pair of peacocks.

Automobiles are also a form of portraiture for Wolfson. He began painting trucks in 1988 and views each iteration as a “portrait” of the same truck to symbolize how people have changed over the years. Since then, he has expanded to include other types of vehicles. Ever the introspective artist, Wolfson considers his automobiles to be self-portraits.