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Michael Druks

Michael Druks (1940-2022) was an Israeli-born artist with a diverse practice ranging from his avant-garde conceptual works of the 1970s involving video, photography and performance, to his installation works, collages, drawings and paintings. Born in Jerusalem in 1940, he grew up in Tel Aviv, where he became involved in theatre and art circles; by the late 1960s, he was acclaimed as a leading young Israeli artist. Druks moved to Europe around 1970 and soon settled permanently in England, where he became known for his conceptual work, and had significant solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; the Whitechapel Gallery, London; De Appel, Amsterdam; and the ICA, London.

Druks exhibited internationally in museums and institutions over the past four decades. Michael Druks: Travels in Druksland, a major retrospective, was at the Museum of Art, Ein Harod (2007); and Druksland: An Audio-Visual Retrospective at Haifa Museum (2004). He was represented in Atlas Critique at the Parc Saint Leger Centre d'Art Contemporain, Paris (2012); and in Contemporary Cartographies: Drawing Thought, CaixaForum, Barcelona (2012), CaixaForum, Madrid (2013). Druks's conceptual map – the print Druksland: Physical and Social – has become an iconic image in both Israeli and international art.

Michael Druks took part in several group exhibitions at England & Co over the past decade, including The Map Is Not the Territory series (2002, 2003, 2009); Beneath the Radar in 1970s London (2010); and Wandering Lines: From Automatic Drawing to Abstraction (2012). Michael Druks, his 2013 solo exhibition with the gallery, featured early conceptual works and video, together with a group of recent paintings. Since 2016, England & Co have regularly exhibited his conceptual photographic works from the 1970s at Photo London at Somerset House. He also was represented by England & Co at Paris Photo in 2019 and 2021.



BIOGRAPHY   
 
Constructions & mixed media   Drawings & works on paper   Paintings   Prints   

Photography



Medium, Medium - Details


Medium, Medium (Detail) c 1970

Foldout photography book Edition 2/2 7 x original photographs mounted on card pages - 7 pages, each 12 x 15 ins

Acquired from England & Co by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art



Two Metres from Paris - Details


Two Metres from Paris 1975
11.75 x 12 inches
Silver bromide print. Ed 1/3
Ref: MD36
Off-On - Details


Off-On 1973
13.25 x 17 inches
Photographs mounted on card
Ref: MD11
Re-ordering of Communication  - Details


Re-ordering of Communication NUMBER HIM 1974
21 x 29.5 inches
Photographs, collage and lettering on board

Private collection


Ref: MD35
Unauthorized Biography - Details


Unauthorized Biography 1975
Each photgraph 10 x 8 inches
Installation of 56 photographs produced c1975
Ref: MD25
Miss Out - Details


Miss Out 1974
12 x 15 inches
Photograph
Edition 4/8
Ref: MD13
Re-ordering of Communication - Details


Re-ordering of Communication Wish 1973
11.5 x 14.25 inches
Photograph
Ref: MD12
Re-ordering of Communication - Details


Re-ordering of Communication Making him smoke 1974
18.75 x 24 inches
Photograph on card
Ref: MD10
Out Focus In - Details


Out Focus In 1979
20.25 x 16.5 inches
Mixed media collage
Ref: MD9
Flexible Geography (Switzerland) 1971<br> - Details


Flexible Geography (Switzerland) 1971
Edition 2002
16 x 20.5 inches
Photograph
Ref: MD8
Flexible Geography (World) 1971<br> - Details


Flexible Geography (World) 1971
Edition 2002
16 x 20.5 inches
Photograph
Ref: MD7
Flexible Geography (World) 1971<br> - Details


Flexible Geography (World) 1971
Edition 2002
16 x 20.5 inches
Photograph
Ref: MD6
Flexible Geography (World) 1971<br> - Details


Flexible Geography (World) 1971
Edition 2002
16 x 20.5 inches
Photograph
Ref: MD5