Ghisha Koenig Explained

Ghisha Koenig
Birth Date:8 December 1921
Birth Place:London, England
Field:Sculpture
Works:The Machine Minders
Spouse:Emanuel "Manny" Tuckman
Children:1

Ghisha Koenig (8 December 1921 - 15 October 1993) was a British sculptor whose work focused on the work place, especially factories as a hub of human activity.[1]

Life

Ghisha Koenig was born in London on 8 December 1921, the daughter of Leo Koenig (1898-1970), art critic and writer, and his wife, Fanny Hildebrand (fl. 1900-1940), formerly a Yiddish actress.[2] In 1950, she married Dr. Emanuel (Manny) Tuckman, and they had one daughter, Sarah.[3] She died on 15 October 1993.

Work

Koenig studied at the Hornsey School of Art, the Chelsea School of Art with Henry Moore, and the Slade School of Art.[4] During World War II she was a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.[5] thumb|left|The Machine Minders by Ghisha KoenigBetween 1955 and 1956 she spent time observing and sketching people at work at an ink factory in Kent. The resulting sculpture was created in clay and made in cast concrete. It was called "The Machine Minders" and was at Tate Liverpool.[6]

Her first solo exhibition was at the Grosvenor Gallery in London in 1966. She also had a solo exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1986. This exhibition included works created from 1968 to 1986 from three series, The Glassworks, The Tentmakers and The Plate and Coil Shop. Factories she visited or worked at included J & E Hall, Dartford (APV Products Ltd) which made escalators and salination systems, the Plate and Coil Shop, and the Fettling Shop.[7] Many of her sculptures are done in bronze or terracotta bas-reliefs.[8]

Her work is in the permanent collection of the Tate Gallery,[4] the Museum of Labour History in Manchester, Middleheim Museum in Belgium, the Graves Art Gallery in Sheffield, the City Art Gallery in Stoke-on Trent, Homerton College in Cambridge, and the City Art Gallery in Manchester.[9] Public commissions include the Ministry of Work, 1950; Festival of Britain, 1951; St. John the Divine, 1961; Dalton House School, Sevenoaks, Kent 1986.

Exhibitions

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1986 . Exhibitions - Ghisha Koenig: Sculpture 1968-1986 . live . https://archive.today/20241103-205235/https://www.serpentinegalleries.org/whats-on/ghisha-koenig-sculpture-1968-1986/ . 3 November 2024 . 5 March 2016 . Serpentine Galleries.
  2. Koenig [married name Tuckman], Ghisha]. 2004. 10.1093/ref:odnb/52209. 5 March 2016. Margaret. Garlake.
  3. News: Katz . Agi . 18 October 1993 . Obituary: Ghisha Koenig . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220706101649/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-ghisha-koenig-1511657.html . 6 July 2022 . 28 August 2014 . The Independent.
  4. Book: Foster, Alicia . Tate Women Artists . . 2004 . 9781854373113 . 130 . en . 51235636 . 3695627M . 3 November 2024 . registration . Internet Archive.
  5. Book: Townsend . Sue . Sue Townsend . Writing on the Wall: Women Writers on Women Artists . . 1993 . 0297813692 . Collins . Judith . London . 141 . en . Sue Townsend on Ghisha Koenig . 29701054 . Lindner . Elsbeth . registration . Internet Archive.
  6. Label on the Machine Minders in the Tate in Liverpool read in 2019
  7. Steyn . Juliet . 1994 . Juliet Steyn remembers Ghisha Koenig . Women's Art Magazine . 56.
  8. Web site: 2013 . Ghisha Koenig . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240415182041/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/koenig-ghisha . 15 April 2024 . 5 March 2015 . Jewish Virtual Library.
  9. Web site: Ghisha Koenig . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120601002123/http://www.boundarygallery.com/koenig/koenig.html . 1 June 2012 . 5 March 2016 . Boundary Gallery.
  10. Web site: Artists - Ghisa Koenig (1921 - 1993) . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170708072516/http://www.artfortune.com/ghisa-koenig/artistbiographies-129457/ . 8 July 2017 . 5 March 2016 . ArtFortune.com.
  11. News: Corwin . William . 2 August 2017 . Ghisha Koenig: Machines Restrict their Movement - Henry Moore Institute . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211204172334/https://deliciousline.org/review/97 . 4 December 2021 . 3 November 2024 . Delicious Line.
  12. Web site: 2017 . Exhibition - Ghisha Koenig: Machines Restrict their Movement . live . https://archive.today/20241103-221235/https://henry-moore.org/whats-on/ghisha-koenig-machines-restrict-their-movement/ . 3 November 2024 . 3 November 2024 . Henry Moore Foundation.

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