Yaacov Agam

Internationally acclaimed Israeli sculptor Yaacov Agam, who was a pioneer of kinetic art, died on Sunday at the age of 98.

Born Yaacov Gibstein on May 11, 1928, in Rishon LeZion, Agam was the son of rabbi and kabbalist Yehoshua Gibstein. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem and then in Zurich, Switzerland. In the early 1950s, he settled in Paris, where he reportedly lived until his death.

Agam was the recipient of the 2026 Israel Prize for Visual Arts and designed several famous public installations around the world, including Israel’s “Fire and Water Fountain” in Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Square. He also designed the “Double Metamorphosis III” at Pompidou in Paris, the “Fontaine Monumentale” in Paris’ La Défense district, and the 32-foot-tall Hanukkah menorah at Fifth Avenue and 59th Street in New York City that was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s largest menorah. His other prominent works included “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Faith – Visual Pray,” a piece highlighting both Jewish and Christian faiths that was presented to Pope Francis in 2014.

In 1996, UNESCO awarded Agam the Jan Amos Comenius Medal for the “Agam Method,” a new approach for the non-verbal, visual education of young children.

Agam was honored at The Algemeiner‘s “J100” Gala in 2017, and that same year the Yaacov Agam Museum of Art, which he helped design, opened in his hometown of Rishon LeZion. The outdoor pavilion at the museum is filled with the 29 “Pillars of Clila,” named after his first wife, Clila, who died at the age of 49. The couple had three children together.

Agam’s coffin was available for public viewing at the Yaacov Agam Museum of Art on Monday afternoon and his funeral procession left the Rehovot Military Cemetery Plaza at 5 pm, according to the museum.

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog praised Agam as “one of Israel’s greatest artists and one of the most esteemed and renowned Israeli creators in the world.”

“Agam broke boundaries and bestowed upon the world a unique artistic language of movement, change, and renewal,” Herzog wrote in a post on X. “His works, which have become part of the world’s most important museums and collections, and also here in the President’s Residence, expressed an extraordinary creative vision and served as a source of inspiration for generations of artists and creators.”

Herzog said he knew Agam since he was a child, and the latter was a “fascinating individual.”

“In every encounter with him, the passion, curiosity, and boundless creativity that characterized him throughout his life were evident,” the president added. “His artistic and human legacy will continue to accompany Israeli culture and art lovers in the country and around the world for many years to come.”

The Yaacov Agam Museum said in a statement that “the art world in Israel and around the world has said goodbye to one of its groundbreaking creators.” It described Agam was “one of the fathers of kinetic art in the world,” and an artist who “dedicated his life to innovative work that changed the face of modern art and influenced generations of artists around the world.”

Rishon LeZion Mayor Raz Kinstlich said the Agam Museum “will continue to be a city gem that will immortalize his work and vision and allow future generations to learn, experience and cherish one of the greats who grew up here.”

“Agam was a groundbreaking artist who gave Israeli creation a unique and inspiring language,” said Israeli Sports and Culture Minister Miki Zohar. “His artistic legacy will continue to illuminate and influence generations of creators in Israel and around the world.”