"Loneliness and individuality are
the pervasive themes" in Peter Z. Malkin's paintings, and in his
life. Casting Pebbles on the Water with a Cluster of Colors is a
revealing look into Malkin's private world which began more than 36
years ago with The Argentina Journal–Malkin's paintings and
sentiments at the time of the capture and captivity of Adolf Eichmann.
Through the vibrant artwork and soulful letters, Malkin expresses
himself in a very intimate way–the antithesis of his anonymity as a
secret agent. As he says, "An agent spends his life keeping things
to himself, covering things up as a matter of course." Casting
Pebbles on the Water with a Cluster of Colors allows this
"master of espionage" the chance to use words and colors, and
turn them into every hue, to describe the people and places he loves.
Born Zvi Malchin in British Palestine, he spent his
early childhood in Zolkiewka, Poland. In 1936, his family returned to
Palestine to escape the rising tide of anti-Semitism; his sister, Fruma,
and her three children who remained behind with 150 other relatives,
died in the Nazi Holocaust. Often alone, with both parents working, he
became a child of the streets–a circumstance that fueled his
independence and a lifelong determination to overcome obstacles.
At the age of 12, Malkin was recruited into the
Haganah, the Palestine Jewish underground. Later, he was invited to join
the new Jewish state's fledgling security service as an explosives
expert–on his application, he wrote: "I like adventure"–and using his skills as a master of martial arts and disguises,
rose through the ranks. The shadow of the Holocaust never left Malkin's
family, but the chance to avenge the tragic deaths of his relatives came
in 1960. As a member of an elite commando team, Malkin was the man who
physically captured and guarded Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in
Buenos Aires. His role in the mission took four months. Malkin spent 27
years in the Mossad before retiring as Chief of Operations in 1976.
Working as an agent, mostly at night, left Malkin
free to study art in Vienna and visit the great museums of the world.
Painting served as his cover, and as an escape from a demanding
profession where survival depended on "hard work and brains."
Describing the mood in many of his paintings, Malkin
says, "I've been alone a lot. I'm a lone wolf. You can be with a
lot of people and feel lonely. You can be alone and feel good. So I've
wanted to portray the loneliness, the separation of people even when
they are together."
Since his retirement, Malkin has devoted his time to
painting, writing, lecturing and consulting on international
anti-terrorism methods. He is the author of five books, including a
compelling memoir, Eichmann In My Hands, with Harry Stein. His
paintings have won acclaim in Brussels, Israel, Japan, London, New York
and Paris.
"Faces are treasures hiding intrinsic beauty,
ceaselessly changing. Behind them are mysteries revealing love or evil.
Every painter has to have atmosphere. For me, I had the atmosphere of
secrecy, and of being an agent."
-Peter Z. Malkin
|
