Abraham Palatnik

I love it when I see something which I have never seen before but have a hunch that it is a good thing, buy it, and sure enough, find out it is good.
Yesterday, I went to the Antique and Collectable fair and saw this owl.  The seller said she bought it in a box of mid century Scandinavian things.  She felt it was new because it is made of what she called acrylic.  There was a sticker on the bottom to say made in Brazil.  Those were the clues.




owl drawing on statistic sheet

As well as the owl there were 2 toucan type birds that another buyer had his hands on.  I loved the owl though, particularly how it's eyes could blink and the feathers ruffle as you move your eyes around it.
When I got home I did some research and found it was made by Abraham Palatnik , a Brazilian artist who made a whole series of creatures in the 1960s.  He was born in 1928 and was a successful artist, even showing work in the Venice Biennale .  He was known for his kinechromatic art.  The animals are made out of Lucite.
I did a couple of drawings based on the owl as is my way of investigating something.






Owl drawing on a map with cut outs

This is my owl and the others are also by Abraham Palatnik.



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