The ink drawings on exhibit by Nissan Bar-Dayan (b. 1936, Kfar Saba) are part of a wider genre of war drawings, of which we are well acquainted. During the Holocaust, Avigdor Arikha (1929-2010), then a young lad, sketched many scenes. During the Yom Kippur War, multidisciplinary artist Gad Ulman (b. 1935, Tel Aviv), documented the war visually, often annotating in pen his illustrated works. 

In Bar-Dayan’s drawings, a horizontal, flowing line surrounds the scene is a manner reminiscent of his landscapes in charcoal and pastel that he executes until today. Alongside the detailed figures and vehicles, done in a thin line drawing, are areas of rich, dark black swatches of color, almost of a textural quality, which lend the works a painterly style.

Rebecca Crown Gallery
2.10.23-28.11.23

Nissan Bar-Dayan (b. 1936, Kfar Saba), Yom Kippur War, 1973, felt-tip marker on paper, 30x40 cm. Photo courtesy of the artist.