Kopel Gurwin

In 1979 the company Kol Ha’Tor LTD, whose main goal was to deal with manufacture, marketing and sale of "artistic works from fabric", was established.

Kopel's tapestry "The Time for Singing has Arrived" was printed on a UNICEF greeting card in 1978 and again in 1981.

In 1974 Kopel was approached by the women of the Beth Shalom Congregation (Sisterhood) in Kansas City, USA, with a request to design a wall hanging 5.40 X 2.70 meters in size. The intention was for a tapestry that the community women could be involved in its production. Kopel designed the work in all its detail and sent precise execution instructions for the wall hanging which was designed as a tapestry around the theme of the Garden of Eden. Following approval of the sketch, Kopel received 50 pieces of special canvas for tapestry embroidery, as well as a catalogue of wool thread with 200 shades. He connected the pieces into a large tapestry, enlarged his sketch and prepared precise instructions for each embroiderer. He then dismantled the tapestry into pieces and sent the pieces of fabric to the women congregants. 70 women took part in sewing the tapestry and completed together 2 million stitches over two years.

The interior designer, Alufa Koljer-Elem, introduced him to Ruth Dayan who managed the shop Maskit and initiated the establishment of the Maskit 6 gallery. On the 10th September 1967 he opened his first solo exhibition at the Maskit 6 gallery, in which 12 wall hangings were displayed.

In 1964 he entered the Independence Day poster competition on the theme of aliyah and won first and second prize. Four years later he again entered the competition on the theme of 20 years of Israel's independence and won first prize. The poster was styled like a Holy Ark curtain with two lions and a menorah at its centre. This poster appeared on the cover of Jewish Art and Civilization, edited by Geoffrey Wigoder, as well as the record Voices of 20 Years, 1948-1968, edited by Yossi Godard. In April 1971 he won first prize in the Independence Day poster competition for the fourth time.

With the completion of his studies at Bezalel Kopel moved to Tel Aviv and was hired by Shmuel Grundman's graphics and design studio. Grundman took him to Europe with him to design and supervise the construction of Israeli exhibition pavilions. During his time at Grundman's he discovered the fibrous felt from which he produced most of his wall hangings. At the 1964 Levant Fair exhibition he used felt stuck onto wooden panels for the first time.

At the end of the 1960s Kopel met Hannah Brooks, who worked in textile design for industry and wove artistic cloths for fashion designers. The two participated in artistic projects for hotels and public buildings. In September 1974 they wed. in 1980 they moved to Beit Yanai.

In 1957 he won an additional first prize from the Lethem Foundation and second place from the printing company Ortzel for a drawing for a Jewish New Year greeting card. In 1958 he won first prize in a competition to design a poster for Tel Aviv's jubilee.

At the end of his first year of study, Kopel won the Reuben and Sarah Lif Excellence Award in written studies. During his studies he also won additional prizes: In 1956 he won first prize from the Lethem Foundation in California for poster design. Later the same year, Kopel won the Herman Shtruk prize for his drawing on the theme of Jerusalem.

In 1950 Kopel and Moshe made aliyah to Israel. Kopel worked as a survey for the Survey of Israel Company. In 1951, he enlisted to the Communication Corps and served as a military draftsman. There he won first prize for the design of the front cover of the Communication Corps bulletin.

The brothers were arrested by the Germans, but were saved thanks to the connections of Nina Gerstein, Kopel's drama teacher. They hid in an attic until they were discovered, fled and moved to Riga, where they were caught and sent to the Stutthof concentration camp where they were imprisoned until the end of the war. They were put to work maintaining and cleaning trains and took part in one of the death marches. In July 1946, Kopel and Moshe sailed to Helsingborg, Sweden, as part of operation "Folke Bernadotte", in which Sweden took in ill survivors for rehabilitation. Once he recovered, Kopel worked in a publishing house and later was appointed director of the local branch of the Halutz movement.

Kopel was active in the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement. In the 1930s, as a teenager, Kopel helped his parents with the home finances by working in a suit workshop, there he first encountered the art of sewing.

Also that year Kopel won first prize for a poster to mark the 25th Zionist Congress.

Kopel Gurwin (Hebrew: קופל גורבין) (1923–1990) was an Israeli wall hanging artist, painter and graphic artist.