Ari Gradus was born in a small village in Israel in 1943. He began painting at the age of eight, at which time his work already showed unusual promise. By the time he was twelve he had won his first prize, a contest for junior artists sponsored by the city of Tel Aviv. After three years of army service An went to live in Paris, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts. He began exhibiting his work in group shows, going on to one-man exhibits in Paris and Geneva. In 1968 An came to the United States to introduce his work to this country. In November of that year he was invited by CBS-TV to be featured on their nationally televised program, "Look Up and Live." During his stay here Ari completed his formal education at New York University. In the last few years Gradus has exhibited his work throughout the East Coast and won numerous awards, among them the Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibition in New York City, the Maurice Podell Historical Museum of New Jersey, the Annual Art Festivals of the city of White Plains, New York, and the town of Mystic, Connecticut, and from the Garden State Cultural Council of New Jersey. Within the last six years An has had one-man shows in New York, Boston, and Miami Beach in the U.S.A.; Brussels, Munich, Paris, and Cannes in Europe; and Tel Aviv and Haifa in Israel. Ari Gradus works in a style perhaps best described as naive, with a freshness and creativity uniquely his own. There is an almost childlike lack of inhibition about his paintings, endowing them with a charm and vivacity of color that truly set them apart. Ari Gradus depicts American and European scenes at the turn of the century. These colorful and charming views take us on a tour of the world from the Old West to Jerusalem. Here we are greeted by quaint side streets and markets unruffled by modern commerce and traffic. Leisurely, people stroll the boulevards in a festive, celebrating atmosphere. It is a story book world of high adventure, old world charm, heroes and heroines of bygone days.
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