Tate Modern London

[Asher Kelman]

RB Kitaj 1932-2007: “The Wedding”
1989-93, Los Angeles, Oil paint on canvas
Born Cleveland (Ohio), lived in London​

RB Kitaj captures moments from his wedding to fellow artist Sandra Fisher (1947-1994). Kitaj, on the right side, wears the traditional shawl of Jewish bridegrooms. He leans forward to embrace Fisher. On the left, wearing a top hat, is the leading British Sephardi rabbi, Abraham Levy. Under the chuppah (canopyl, are the couple's friends and Kitals children.


He made this painting several years after the wedding took place. It reflects the increasing importance of Kitajs Jewish heritage in his art and thought.


Presented by the artist 1993 to Tate Modern, London

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Asher,

Fascinating. I was unaware of Kitaj until this. (I know well the town where he was born, Chagrin Falls, a second-ring eastern suburb of Cleveland, Ohio).

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RB Kitaj 1932-2007: “The Wedding”

1989-93, Los Angeles, Oil paint on canvas
Born Cleveland (Ohio), lived in London​

RB Kitaj captures moments from his wedding to fellow artist Sandra Fisher (1947-1994). Kitaj, on the right side, wears the traditional shawl of Jewish bridegrooms. He leans forward to embrace Fisher.

I'm not sure which of the females in this is Fisher (I guess the woman in red). The girl just to his right seems very interested!

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On the left, wearing a top hat, is the leading British Sephardi rabbi, Abraham Levy. Under the chuppah (canopyl, are the couple's

Thanks so much for this peek into a fascinating life.

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Asher Kelman]

Doug,

I don’t know which is the bride but I will try to find out. Certainly there’s a great feeling of celebration and closeness of family and community. I was very impressed and am glad you like it too!

Asher

 

[Asher Kelman]

Antony Gormley: “Three Ways: Mould Hole and Passage” 1981–2. Lead, plaster. Installation view, Tate Gallery, London.
Tate Gallery Collection, London. © the artist.​

 

[Asher Kelman]

Denzil Forrester MBE: “Three Wicked Men”
1982

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Three Wicked Men narrates the story of Winston Rose, a childhood friend of Denzil Forrester who died while in police custody in 1981. The title of the painting is borrowed from a reggae record that refers to the policeman, the politician and the businessman and 'all the badness they do in the world'. The stiff, uniformed figures of the two policemen flank Rose, seeming to drain the colour from their surroundings. Forrester belongs to a generation of Black British artists who use figurative painting to depict racial and social injustice. Working from the outset of the Thatcher government in the early 1980s, his dynamic and crowded scenes are inspired by his time spent in London reggae and dub clubs.