SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Jacob El Hanani’s drawings take shape through the accumulation of thousands of lines or tiny letters, according to a plan defined in advance. This plan may determine the number or length of the strokes, call for the use of letters, or organise the repetition of the artist’s signature. These principles unfold across several series, including Signature, Crosshatch, Kav Parallel, Gauze and Letter falls. The execution of a drawing can extend over several months; the artist works in sequences of ten or twelve minutes. He describes his intention as “drawing time” and making perceptible the duration required for its execution.
Born in Casablanca in 1947, El Hanani spent part of his childhood there. In the early 1950s, his family emigrated to Israel, where he grew up. After graduating from the Avni School of Fine Art in Tel Aviv, he lived in Paris for several years and attended the École des Beaux-Arts; an essay places his studies in Paris around 1970. Since 1974, he has lived and worked in New York.
In 2005, the Whitney Museum of American Art presented his drawings in the exhibition Building and Breaking the Grid. His works are represented in museum collections, including those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Jewish Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Musée national d’art moderne–Centre Pompidou and the British Museum.
This profile brings together identity references for Jacob El Hanani and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Artcurial Beurret Bailly Widmer · Schuler
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil and India ink on canvas
No. 4, 1974
Öl und Tusche auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2024-06-19
Published result : 26376 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 20000–30000
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Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2023-06-21
Published result : 12369 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 10000–15000
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Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Ohne Titel, 1975
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2023-06-21
Published result : 27213 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 10000–15000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2022-06-22
Published result : 13606 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
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Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2022-06-22
Published result : 19173 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
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Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Ohne Titel, 1975
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2022-06-22
Published result : 21028 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Ohne Titel, 1975
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2022-06-22
Published result : 23502 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2021-09-29
Published result : 6685 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
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Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Ohne Titel, 1975
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2021-09-29
Published result : 10331 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2021-09-29
Published result : 6077 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Ohne Titel, 1975
Öl und Tinte auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2021-09-29
Published result : 9723 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 4000–6000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil and India ink on canvas
No. 4, 1974
Öl und Tusche auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2019-06-19
Published result : 18231 CHF
Including buyer’s premium
Estimate : CHF 15000–20000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Oil and India ink on canvas
No. 3, 1974
Öl und Tusche auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2018-06-20
Published result : 34031 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 10000–15000
View the lot at the auction house ↗
Tusche auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2018-03-23
Published result : 17000 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 2000–3000
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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