Pinchas “Maryan” Burstein, Untitled (carmine), 1975

“I don’t force anyone to like my painting, but I don’t want it to be labeled anything, for example: denunciatory painting, unbridled aggressiveness… […] As far as my painting is concerned, I officially declare that I would rather have it called ‘truth‑painting’.” (MARYAN, excerpt from the catalogue Ariel42, from Ariel gallery, Paris, February 1977)

Pinchas Burstein, also known as Maryan S. Maryan, was a Polish-Jewish artist and sculptor born on October 27, 1927, in Lodz, Poland. He survived the Holocaust and emigrated to Israel in 1948, where he studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem.

Burstein’s artwork is a reflection on pain, memory, and humanity. In his early works, he depicted the horror of the Holocaust he had experienced, using drawing and painting to represent the experience of Nazi concentration camps. Over time, his work evolved towards more abstract and sculptural forms.

Burstein was an innovator in the field of printmaking, developing relief engraving techniques that allowed him to create three-dimensional images in metal. His prints and sculptures are often large-scale and have a tactile texture and rich detail, inviting the viewer to explore their forms and meanings.

Burstein passed away on February 15, 1977, in New York City, USA, at the age of 49. His work has been recognized for its artistic value and historical testimony to the Holocaust. His artistic legacy is a combination of the tragedy of his personal experience and his faith in the ability of art to convey universal messages and evoke deep emotions in the viewer.