Franz Moishe Kempf AM FRS (20 June 1926 – 8 February 2020) was an Australian artist who worked in Australia and Europe. He was a lecturer in printmaking at the University of Adelaide.
Kempf was born in Melbourne on 20 June 1926, [1] and studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, then (between 1957 and 1960) [1] in Perugia, Italy, and with Oscar Kokoschka in Salzburg, [2] Austria. [3] In England, he worked as a film designer with Richard Macdonald, and was associated with Peter Blake, Joe Tilson, Ceri Richards and Keith Vaughan. Vaughan had an influence on Kempf’s work of the 1960s.[ citation needed]
Kempf worked with and in a variety of media, styles, and methods, including paint, print, etching, lithograph, monotype, screenprint, textile, and woodcut. [4]
Kempf moved to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1963, becoming head of printmaking at the then North Adelaide School of Arts in 1969. [3] He was a senior lecturer in printmaking at the University of South Australia from 1973 to 1981, and a guest lecturer at the Slade School of Fine Art, the University of London, the Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland, and the Gloucester College of Art. He participated in over 90 one-man invitation exhibitions in America, Israel, Germany, Poland, and China.[ citation needed]
His thought and work was influenced by Jewish mysticism, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Cavafy and Proust. In his work, he covered subjects from political issues and the natural environment to the spiritual traditions in Judaism. [3] Although from a non-observant background, Kempf turned to following the Chabad movement of Hasidic Judaism, becoming strictly observant. [2]
Professor Sasha Grishin described him as
...an artist whose work presents both a striking continuity throughout a career which has stretched over half a century, and he is an artist whose work presents evidence for constant rejuvenation and reinvention. As a humanist, the concern for man lies at the centre of his universe and the dilemma of being is the central preoccupation. However, the human presence in Kempf’s art is not something which is treated as unproblematic, something to be recorded and to be described literally. For Kempf to be human is something to be celebrated and the artist adopts an ethical stance in his defence of human dignity. Throughout a series of metaphors, symbols and allegories in a sombre and profound manner he commemorates the miracle of being and condemns all that is oppressive and coercive. As a humanist and as a spiritual and religious artist, Kempf has chosen a path which has not been popular with many of his Australian peers. Yet with time as the various fads and fashions pass, Kempf’s art today appears increasingly fresh, vital and relevant to the issues of the present time. [5]
In 1964, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society UK, and in January 2003, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the Arts. [6]
Kempf died in Adelaide on 8 February 2020. He was married to Tamar, and left two children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. [7]
The Carclew, an arts centre for youth in North Adelaide, manages the IAF (Independent Arts Foundation) Franz Kempf Printmaker Award, awarded biennially to support the professional development of a young South Australian printmaker. The funding for the A$4,000 award was provided as a gift from Kempf to the Independent Arts Foundation, of which he was a longtime member. [8]
The Franz Kempf Memorial Gallery in the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre (opened in November 2020) contains work by Kempf.. [9]
Kempf's work is held in the following institutions:[ citation needed]
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Franz Moishe Kempf AM FRS (20 June 1926 – 8 February 2020) was an Australian artist who worked in Australia and Europe. He was a lecturer in printmaking at the University of Adelaide.
Kempf was born in Melbourne on 20 June 1926, [1] and studied at the National Gallery of Victoria Art School, then (between 1957 and 1960) [1] in Perugia, Italy, and with Oscar Kokoschka in Salzburg, [2] Austria. [3] In England, he worked as a film designer with Richard Macdonald, and was associated with Peter Blake, Joe Tilson, Ceri Richards and Keith Vaughan. Vaughan had an influence on Kempf’s work of the 1960s.[ citation needed]
Kempf worked with and in a variety of media, styles, and methods, including paint, print, etching, lithograph, monotype, screenprint, textile, and woodcut. [4]
Kempf moved to Adelaide, South Australia, in 1963, becoming head of printmaking at the then North Adelaide School of Arts in 1969. [3] He was a senior lecturer in printmaking at the University of South Australia from 1973 to 1981, and a guest lecturer at the Slade School of Fine Art, the University of London, the Edinburgh College of Art, Scotland, and the Gloucester College of Art. He participated in over 90 one-man invitation exhibitions in America, Israel, Germany, Poland, and China.[ citation needed]
His thought and work was influenced by Jewish mysticism, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Cavafy and Proust. In his work, he covered subjects from political issues and the natural environment to the spiritual traditions in Judaism. [3] Although from a non-observant background, Kempf turned to following the Chabad movement of Hasidic Judaism, becoming strictly observant. [2]
Professor Sasha Grishin described him as
...an artist whose work presents both a striking continuity throughout a career which has stretched over half a century, and he is an artist whose work presents evidence for constant rejuvenation and reinvention. As a humanist, the concern for man lies at the centre of his universe and the dilemma of being is the central preoccupation. However, the human presence in Kempf’s art is not something which is treated as unproblematic, something to be recorded and to be described literally. For Kempf to be human is something to be celebrated and the artist adopts an ethical stance in his defence of human dignity. Throughout a series of metaphors, symbols and allegories in a sombre and profound manner he commemorates the miracle of being and condemns all that is oppressive and coercive. As a humanist and as a spiritual and religious artist, Kempf has chosen a path which has not been popular with many of his Australian peers. Yet with time as the various fads and fashions pass, Kempf’s art today appears increasingly fresh, vital and relevant to the issues of the present time. [5]
In 1964, he was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society UK, and in January 2003, was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for his contribution to the Arts. [6]
Kempf died in Adelaide on 8 February 2020. He was married to Tamar, and left two children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. [7]
The Carclew, an arts centre for youth in North Adelaide, manages the IAF (Independent Arts Foundation) Franz Kempf Printmaker Award, awarded biennially to support the professional development of a young South Australian printmaker. The funding for the A$4,000 award was provided as a gift from Kempf to the Independent Arts Foundation, of which he was a longtime member. [8]
The Franz Kempf Memorial Gallery in the Adelaide Holocaust Museum and Andrew Steiner Education Centre (opened in November 2020) contains work by Kempf.. [9]
Kempf's work is held in the following institutions:[ citation needed]
{{
citation}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
link)