Cecilia de Torres, Ltd.

José Gurvich, Installation at Cecilia de Torres, New York, 1994

José Gurvich, Constructivist grid with 2 horses, 1952, Oil on canvas, 63 x 39½ in. 160 x 100 cm.

José Gurvich, Forms in black & white, 1959, Oil on board, 31¼ x 38⅝ in. 79,3 x 98 cm.

José Gurvich, Pogrom, 1969, Oil on canvas, 19½ x 27⅜ in. 49,5 x 70 cm.

José Gurvich, Construction in black & white, 1962, Tempera and gesso on wood, 16 x 19⅝ in. 40,6 x 50 cm.

b. 1927, Lithuania – d. 1974 New York City

Populated with figures and images that reflect his Jewish upbringing, his participation with the Taller Torres-García, and his profound admiration for the European art masters Breughel and Bosch, Gurvich's artworks combine a unique personal style with technical mastery. 

The child of Jewish immigrants, the artist was born in Lithuania and moved to Uruguay with his family in 1932.  There, Gurvich excelled at both music and the visual arts, and it was while studying the violin alongside Horacio Torres that the young artist was introduced to Horacio's father, Joaquín Torres-García.    Soon after, Gurvich joined the Taller Torres-García, participating in the workshop's exhibitions, writing for its publications, executing mural projects, and teaching.  Gurvich's role at the Taller later influenced the creation of his own workshop, the Taller Montevideo, where he taught the next generation of Uruguayan artists. 

In 1954 and again in 1964, the artist travelled to Europe and Israel, where he lived as a shepherd on the Ramot Menasche kibbutz.  These experiences profoundly influenced the iconography of his paintings and sculptures.  Moving to the United States in 1970, Gurvich joined his fellow Taller Torres-García artists Julio Alpuy, Horacio Torres, and Gonzalo Fonseca in New York City, where he continued to produce art until his premature death in 1974.