Gordon Willy (1918-2003)

Gordon Willy (1918, Ringmundhoff (Ringen), Latvia – 2003) — sculptor, artist.

In 1925, Willy Gordon moved with his family to Malmö, Sweden, when his father was appointed cantor at the local synagogue. In the early 1930s, he moved to Riga, where he lived for three years, studied Hebrew, and attended secondary school.

In 1937, after completing his studies at the Zadig School of Sculpture, he received a scholarship which he used to visit his father's native town in Lithuania, where he designed stage sets for a production of Sholem Aleichem’s Fiddler on the Roof. He studied at the Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm (1940–1945), and later in Paris, Israel, Italy, and London. He was a friend of Marc Chagall.

Initially aspiring to become an opera singer, in 1937 he took lessons from the renowned tenor Joseph Hislop. During the Second World War, he performed Jewish songs on the radio.

In the 1950s, Willy Gordon served as Director of the College of Arts in Haifa. In 1955, he married the English designer Mona Caller.

He created numerous sculptures now located in various cities across Sweden. He spent most of his life in Stockholm, where more than ten of his works are displayed. He is the author of the Holocaust Memorial in Malmö. One of his notable sculptures — a depiction of the celebrated Swedish tenor Jussi Björling — was unveiled on 19 May 1990 at Jussi Björling Square in Borlänge, Sweden.

Willy Gordon also created monuments dedicated to Swedish cultural and scientific figures (such as Selma Lagerlöf and Raoul Wallenberg), as well as works representing scientific subjects, including molecular and crystal structures.

Works:

Willy Gordon: Autobiography / Edited by June Rose; designed by Mona Gordon. Järna: Meta Bokproduktion, 1976. 112 p.

Полет с Торой, Стокгольм, Швеция

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