Born in 1975
Education
2007-9 MFA, the Art Department, University of Haifa
2005 - Summer session, Florence Academy of Art, Italy
2002-2004 Art teacher's certificate, University of Haifa
1999-2002 Bachelor Degree in Archeology and Fine Art, University of Haifa
1996-1998 Graphic Design, Western Galilee College, Wizo College Branch
Experience
2009 Drawing and Painting teacher, the Art Department, Haifa University
Drawing and Painting teacher, Education Wing, Haifa Museum of Art
2005-2008 Director and Curator of Sawa Gallery, Sawa Center, Shfaraam
2000-2008 Production Assistant, the Art Gallery, University of Haifa
Exhibitions
2012 - solo exhibition, Tel Aviv museum of Art, Tel Aviv
solo exhibition, Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art
Selected Exhibitions
2011 - "Face to Face", Brigham Young University Gallery, Jerusalem
"My Father is a Soldier", The Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan
2010 - "Window onto reality, Haifa Museum of Art, Education Wing, Haifa
Fresh Paint Art Fair 3, Tel Aviv - Jaffa
"Following the Chocolate Soldier", Shankar Gallery, Ramat Gan
"Dream a reality", Pyramid Gallery, Haifa
2009 - "Exposure to the North", artist's workshops in Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv
"Men in the sun", Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel
MFA Exhibition, the Dr. Hecht Art Center, Haifa University
2007 - "Portrait", Beit Hageffen Gallery, Haifa
"Desert Generation", Meneer de Wit Gallery, Amsterdam, Holland
"Desert Generation", Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv
"Desert Generation", Jerusalem Artist House, Jerusalem
"My Land", Sawa Gallery, Shfaraam
"Portrait", Municipal Gallery, Tamra
2006 - "A Different World", Sawa Gallery, Shfaraam
2005 - "Alumni exhibition", The Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy
2002 - "Alumni exhibition", The Art Department, Haifa University
The Young Artist Award, A.M. Al-Qattan Foundation, Ramallah
Awards
2009 - MFA Distinction scholarship, Haifa University
2007 - Distinction scholarship, Haifa University
2005 - Residency scholarship in Florence, the America-Israel Culture Foundation
Residency scholarship in Florence, A.M. Al-Qattan Foundation, Ramallah
Michael Halak was born in 1975 in Israel, where he currently lives and works. Mr. Halak paints from observation and, as a result, his paintings are both figurative and realistic. His unique composition of objects are representative of both images and ideas. His self-portraits address fundamental questions pertaining to the politics of identity, in addition, to the self-representation of young Palestinians in Israel. Consequently, many questions and ideas arise in response to his subject matter, such as the ability to go (or not go) through modern life without immediate identification as the 'other', the ability to rely on the appearance of an unmarked face, devoid of ethnic features and the ability to assimilate into a crowd without constant examination and isolation. Thus, his use of detailed painterly realism and the depiction of bodily gestures creates a sense of exposure, discomfort and perplexity in the viewer.
Rather than faithfully representing his own appearance, Mr. Halak's self-portrait engages in a dialectic, as it attempts to generate exposure and obstruction, a realistic presence inhibited by deliberate blurring by the artist. In this context, Max Beckmann's assertion becomes most fitting, "if you wish to get hold of the invisible you must penetrate as deeply as possible into the visible". In Halak's case, however, the penetration into the visible seems to encapsulate the anxiety of physical hurt and injury, and situates in the heart of the viewer the human need to protect the artist's inner soul.
Michael Halak's artwork has been displayed in solo exhibitions and group exhibitions worldwide (Alumni exhibition, The Florence Academy of Art, Florence, Italy in 2005, "Men in the Sun", Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art in 2009 and "My Father is a Soldier", Ramat Gan Museum of Israeli Art in 2011). Halak has received numerous prestigious awards, amongst them the Residency Scholarship in Florence, A.M. Al-Qattan Foundation, Ramallah in 2005 and the Scholarship in Florence, the America-Israel Culture Foundation in 2005, Distinction Scholarship, Haifa University in 2007 and for the MFA.
