Dan Reisinger was born in Kanjiža, Yugoslavia, now Serbia in 1934. Much of his childhood was spent in hiding from the occupying Germans and having lost many family members in the Holocaust, including his father who died in a forced labour battalion of the Hungarian Army, in 1949 he and his mother immigrated to the nascent state of Israel.
Descended from four generations of painters and master-craftsmen, Reisinger soon found work as a housepainter. His sights, however, were set on acquiring a profession in the field of art and design. In 1950, former Bauhaus student Mordechai Ardon, Head of the New Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts, Jerusalem, accepted the eager 16 year-old into the school. Dan’s first poster for the national lottery was published in 1953, and a year later he won the Struck prize for the Bezalel’s most outstanding student.
Peace poster, 1968
Maccabiah Games poster, 1977
For 60 years, Reisinger’s memorable posters for the Habimah National Theatre, the Maccabiah Games, EL AL, the Israel Defence Force, and much more dominated Israel’s hoardings.
Poster for EL AL airlines, c. 1970
Poster for a performance of Julius Caesar, 1961
Always conscious of Bauhaus principles, Dan kept his work bold, straightforward and colourful. His three-dimensional and environmental designs were no exception. Israel’s Pavilion at Montreal’s Expo ’67, Tel Aviv’s seaside promenade, Bar Ilan university, medical schools, hospitals, buildings and industrial plants were given the brightly painted Reisinger treatment. His interactive calendars are masterpieces of paper engineering.
Poster for Israel Museum, 1976
Poster for the Post Office, 1965
Perpetual calendars for MoMA, 1987
Graphic Design 