Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1945 Jerusalem, Palestine

Biography

Conceptual artist Amikam Toren was born in Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine (now Israel) in 1945 and immigrated to London in 1968. A noteworthy figure in British conceptual art, Toren examines the theoretical and practical constructs that shape art. His practice engages in a meaningful conversation with an array of influential international art movements, such as Arte Povera, Minimalism, and Pop art. He has been committed to creating art since the 1970s, focusing on the interplay between form and content while exploring the methodology of sculpture and painting. Employing a process rooted in reduction (destruction) and reconstruction, Toren crafts his pieces with materials sourced from his own studio, the streets, and even antique markets. In his practice, trivial everyday objects are given the status of art. As Richard Dyer commented, ‘Toren re-focuses the Duchampian gaze by remaking the ready-made,’ (Dyer, 2006, p. 1). Toren is known for his sharp attention to the mundane and unobserved, combined with a profound interest in language and interpretation. He wants his ‘canvas to be as common as the daily newspaper,’ (Archer, 1987, p. 12). The pivotal series that began in 1979–80 with the installation, Neither a Painting nor a Chair, epitomised much of this practice and further articulated Joseph Kosuth’s iconic conceptual piece One and Three Chairs (1965–67). Neither a Painting nor a Chair can serve as representative of Toren’s oeuvre, exploring modes of representation. Among the artists who influenced Toren, are Italian artist, Lucio Fontana and his iconic ‘slashes', Japanese artist Murakami Saburo (a member of the Gutai Art Association) with his performative destruction of the canvas, and German émigré, Gustav Metzger, renowned for his destructive art processes.

One of Toren’s milestone exhibitions was Pidgin Paintings held at the Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London, in 1987 where he presented minimalist paintings made from every-day found items. The sole purpose of the nonsensical and non-referential titles of the paintings was to differentiate them. A critic observed of the work that ‘[…] much of its richness has escaped efforts at critical interpretation. As a tongue-in-cheek acknowledgment of this, Toren has given the new works the generic title Pidgin Paintings; he sees his work’s reception to date as, in the main, a series of explanations which relate to its true meanings as pidgin English relates to the languages we use to communicate with one another.’ (Archer, 1987, p. 12). Toren soon became an important figure on the conceptual art scene. His art practice based on questioning existing paradigms was already evident in the 1980s reception of his work: ‘There is no longer that inevitable, and perhaps overriding link between what the work represents, what it is of, and what it is about. By, as it were, adopting abstraction as his overall image, Toren has considerably loosened the joints between those three aspects,’ (Archer, 1987, p.12-13). Toren’s minimalist approach inspects the concept of how limited interference from an artist can result in a work that is intellectually profound and resonant. The processes involved in both creating and appreciating art are intertwined in his work, offering an exploration of their union.

The most exhaustive showcase of his work to date is the online exhibition titled This Way Up set up in 2020. Since 1985, Anthony Reynolds Gallery in London has officially represented Toren and regularly shows his work (without having a fixed London space). He is also represented by galleries abroad: Noga Gallery of Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv; MOT International, Brussels; and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco. Toren has participated in major international events such as the Venice Biennale and the Guangzhou Triennial in China. In the UK he participated in The British Art Show 5 (Hayward Gallery, London and touring (2000–1) and was a recipient of the Jerwood Drawing Prize in 2011 and the prestigious John Moores Painting Prize in 2012.

Amikam Toren lives and works in London and has been a tutor in Fine Art and the City and Guilds of London Art School. His work is held in UK public collections, including the Tate Collection, Arts Council Collection and the Government Art Collection.

Related books

Amikam Toren, The Rest is History, exh. cat., Sir Robert Martin Gallery, Loughborough University, February 2023
Phillip Lindley et al, Amikam Toren: Representation as a Matter of Fact (Glasgow: 756 Press, 2021)
Peter Suchin, 'Amikam Toren: Moving in the Right Direction', Art Monthly, No. 356, May 2012, pp. 22-23
Richard Dyer, 'Ceci n’est pas un tableau – The Work of Amikam Toren', Third Text, Vol. 19, No. 2, March 2005, pp. 155-168
Julia Wiener, Smash and Dab, Jewish Chronicle (13 December 1996), p. 35
Elisabeth A. MaCgregor et al, Amikam Toren (Birmingham and Bristol: Ikon Gallery, Arnolfini Gallery, 1991)
Michael Archer, 'Amikam Toren', Art Monthly, No. 110, 1 October 1987, pp. 12-13
Patricia Bickers, Amikam Toren: Pidging Paintings (London: Anthony Reynolds Gallery, 1987)
Sarah Kent, Problems of Picturing: Tony Bevan, Nigel Gill, David Leapman, Lisa Milroy, Amikam Toren (London: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1984)
Sarah Kent, Replacing (London: Institute of Contemporary Art, 1979)

Public collections

Related organisations

City and Guilds of London Art School (tutor)
Wallpaper Magazine (Founding co-editor)

Selected exhibitions

Amikam Toren, The Rest is History, Sir Robert Martin Gallery, Loughborough University (2023)
Representation as a Matter of Fact, Wolfson College, Oxford (2021)
This Way Up (Solo online exhibition), Pataphysic.com (2020)
Neither A Teapot Nor A Painting (solo exhibition), MOTInternational, Brussels (2014)
Moving in the Right Direction, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (2012)
The 4th Guangzhou Triennial (group show), Guangdong Museum of Art, Guangdong (2012)
Common Ground (group show), Biennale Architettura, Venice (2012)
Amikam Toren – Carrots & Refreshments, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv (2009)
The British Art Show 5, Hayward Gallery and touring (2000–1)
Three Takes, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (1996)
And What Do You Represent?, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (1992)
Safety Regulation Painting No. 6, Victoria Miro, Cork Street, London (1989)
Pidgin Paintings, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London (1987)
Aperto (group show), Venice Biennale, Venice (1984)
Amikam Toren, Armchair Paintings, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham
Amikam Toren, Arnolfini, Bristol (1991)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Amikam Toren]

Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.

Amikam Toren artist