Lot Essay
David Palombo (1920–1966)
David Palombo was an Israeli sculptor and painter whose work is characterized by the use of raw, hand-forged materials—primarily iron and stone. Born in Turkey in 1920, he immigrated to Jerusalem as a child. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and later became a teacher there. Palombo developed a distinctive visual language grounded in abstraction, weight, and texture, often integrating welded iron forms with architectural structures.
His major public commissions include the gates of the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem (1960) and the gates of the Knesset (1966). These works reflect his interest in monumental scale, ritual symbolism, and the expressive possibilities of metalwork. Palombo died in a motorcycle accident in 1966 at the age of 46.
David Palombo was an Israeli sculptor and painter whose work is characterized by the use of raw, hand-forged materials—primarily iron and stone. Born in Turkey in 1920, he immigrated to Jerusalem as a child. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and later became a teacher there. Palombo developed a distinctive visual language grounded in abstraction, weight, and texture, often integrating welded iron forms with architectural structures.
His major public commissions include the gates of the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem (1960) and the gates of the Knesset (1966). These works reflect his interest in monumental scale, ritual symbolism, and the expressive possibilities of metalwork. Palombo died in a motorcycle accident in 1966 at the age of 46.