Mark Kanovich

Mark Kanovich was born on May 1, 1970, in Tbilisi, Georgia, and now lives and works in Tel-Aviv. His fantastic realism focuses on dimension, movement and form, staging figures through unique and sharp perspectives and unusual techniques that fuse sculpture and painting. While clearly inspired by Chagall, Kanovich’s romantic images often invoke a poignant sense of longing as his subjects constantly seek love, beauty, warmth, humor and generosity.
Kanovich studied architecture at university before mandatory military service at age 18, where he designed information centers. After spending a few days in military jail over a misunderstood Lenin poster, he vowed never to draw anything political again. He immigrated to Israel in 1992 and studied art at the Avni institute in Tel-Aviv, working three jobs while painting at night in his tiny, cold studio apartment.
Today his studio resides in a former Kibbutz and British Military office, where he works alongside friends including Yaacov Agam, David Najar and Yuval Wolfson. He was particularly close to Itzchak Tarkay, who mentored him until Tarkay’s passing in 2012. Kanovich’s work, represented by Park West Gallery, has been exhibited at numerous venues including the History Museum in Tbilisi (1991), the Art Center in Rishon Le-Zion (1995), Ribak’s House Museum in Bat-Jam (2003), and the Bible Museum in Tel-Aviv (2005).