Yaacov Agam

Born Yaacov Gipstein in Rishon LeZion, in what was then Mandatory Palestine, in 1928, Agam trained at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem before studying in Zurich and settling in Paris in 1951 — the city that would remain his primary base for the rest of his career. In Paris he became associated with the Kinetic Art and Op Art movements of the 1950s and 1960s, developing a body of work centered on the idea that art should not be static but should change with the viewer's position and the passage of time, reflecting his interest in Jewish philosophical concepts of movement and transformation. Agam's signature invention is the 'Agamograph,' a technique using ridged, corrugated surfaces onto which two or more distinct images are printed, such that the viewer sees an entirely different image depending on the angle of view — a static print that behaves like a kinetic sculpture. He applied the same underlying principle to painted and sculptural works throughout his career, producing pieces that shift, transform, or appear to move as the viewer's position changes. His public sculpture commissions include the fire and water fountain at La Défense in Paris and works installed at the Israel Museum and numerous international collections. Agam's limited-edition prints and Agamographs, produced across decades in various sizes and editions, are the works most commonly found at auction, and his instantly recognizable style — geometric, brightly colored, and optically active — has made him one of the most widely collected Israeli artists internationally.