Aharon Kahana studied art in Stuttgart (his hometown) and in Paris. At the end of the 40’s after winning the Dizengoff prize, Aharon travelled with Mida to study ceramics in Paris.
In 1958 Aharon and Mida Kahana established the ceramic studio ‘Beit Hayotzer” in Ramat Gan believing that ceramic making would bring income and solve their financial problems. In the studio Aharon produced sculptural vessels and ceramic wall murals. As a leading artist in the art world developing in Israel, Kahana led a trend of ceramic making of a particular style, with ancient biblical influences – between abstract and modern. In his making Kahana was part of the “new horizons” group (active in various formats from 1948 – 1963) and exhibited with Avigdor Steimatzky, Yosef Zaritsky, Yehezkiel Streichman, Marcel Janko, Dov Feigin, Moshe Kastel and other artists.
Aharon Kahana was an admired artist connected to painters and sculptors from “new horizons” exhibiting with them in exhibitions and simultaneously connecting with ceramic artists active in the second half of the previous century. He exhibited in ceramic exhibitions together with Hedwig Grossman, Pnina Zamir Amir, Gedula Ogen, Genia Berger, Zvi Gali and other artists.
Kahana was one of the most productive artists and in the second half of the previous century a leader of the trend of making ceramic wall murals together with others such as Gedula Ogen, Jean David, Bezalel Schatz, Marcel Janko and Itche Mambush. The works of Aharon Kahana have strong colors – which was uncharacteristic of the unglazed brown clay popular in Israeli ceramics at that time – his murals were based on colored glazes painted on commercial tiles and not on sculptural relief.
At the beginning of the 60’s the house of Aharon and Mida Kahana, designed by Yakov Rechter, was completed – the building known as “Beit Aharon Kahana” where from 1991 until a few years ago showed ceramic exhibitions under the direction and curating of Ina Aruetti.
The vision of Aharon and Mida Kahana to work in different media (painting, sculpture and ceramics) was successful in the 60’s – the busiest years of the studio – until the death of Aharon Kahana in 1968. In this period Israeli ceramics flourished: for ceramic artists working in their studios, for artists showing ceramics in exhibitions, industrial ceramics in the factories and architectural ceramics which together created the local identity throughout the country.
