Gershon Iskowitz

Gershon Iskowitz was born in Kielce, Poland, on November 21st, 1921.

Chronology (1921- 1988)

1921	Born in Kielce, Poland
1939	Registered at Warsaw Academy of Art. At outbreak of war in September, put to forced labor.
1943	September. Gershon and brother, Yosl, transported to Auschwitz.
1944	Transferred to Buchenwald in the fall.
1945	11 April. Liberation of Buchenwald by U.S. forces. In hospital at Buchenwald. Then was sent to recuperate at hospital near Munich.
1947	January to May. Studied at Munich Academy of Art. Private study with Oskar Kokoschka.
1949	Emigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto.
1952	Attended Artist's Workshop, Toronto (until 1959-60). Began sketching trips to Markham and Uxbridge.
1953	Part-time teaching at Holy Blossom Temple and YMHA. First trip to Lake Simcoe.
1954	First exhibition with the Canadian Society of Graphic Artists. Part-time teaching at McKellar Lake.
1957	First one-man exhibition, Hayter Gallery, Toronto
1960	First one-man exhibition with [|Here and Now Gallery], Toronto. Associated with the gallery until it closed in 1963.
1961	Solo exhibition at Victoria College, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.
1962	Moved to his own studio on Spadina Avenue, Toronto.
1964	Became associated with Gallery Moos, Toronto. First of many one-man exhibitions at Gallery Moos from 1964 to 1988.
1967	Solo exhibition at Waterloo University, Waterloo, Ontario (Retrospective Exhibition). Part-time teaching at Three Schools until 1970. First Trip to Churchill, Manitoba.
1970	Group exhibition ‘Eight Artists From Canada,’ Tel-Aviv Museum, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
1972	Chosen with Walter Redinger by the National Gallery of Canada to represent Canada at the XXXVI Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy.
1973	Solo exhibition at Hart House, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. Group exhibition ‘The Canadian Canvas,’ traveling exhibition organized by Time Canada.
1974	Elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy.
1975	One-man exhibition at Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Calgary, Alberta.
1976	Solo exhibition at Gallery Moos, Toronto, Ontario.
1977	One-man exhibition at Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, NY. Was awarded a medal in honor of the Queen’s silver jubilee. Solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Solo exhibition at Gallery Moos, Toronto, Ontario. Group exhibition ‘Seven Canadian Painters,’ Canada Council Art Bank, traveling exhibition throughout New Zealand and Australia.
1980	Group exhibition ‘Contemporary Canadian Art,’ Nabisco World Headquarters Reception Gallery, East Hanover, New York. Group exhibition ‘A Selection of Canadian Paintings,’ The Art Gallery at Harbourfront, Toronto, Ontario.
1981	Purchased and moved to larger studio at 85 Tecumseth Street. Group exhibition ‘Other Places, Other Painters; Canadian Contemporary Art,’ Sir George Wlliams Art Gallery, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec.
1982	Retrospective exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto. The exhibition travelled throughout Canada and to London, England (March 1983).
1983	One-man exhibition, Marisa del Re Gallery, New York, NY.
1985	Establishes the Gershon Iskowitz Foundation and the Gershon Iskowitz Prize in association with the Canada Council.
1988	Gershon Iskowitz passes away in Toronto, Ontario.