Leonid Balaklav was born in 1956 in Moldavia. He graduated from the Art school in Kiev (1971-1973), and from the Art Institute in Odessa (1974). Balaklav immigrated to Israel in 1990 and settled in Jerusalem. Balaklav was known as a promising artist in Moldavia. in his early work in Russia, he sought to conduct a dialogue with the works of the great masters such as Caravaggio, Rembrandt and Repin. The acme of Balaklav’s paintings is the self portraits; in these paintings, he puts himself into states of environmental pressure, one can feel the absent presence of the artist, it seems like he is fading in the nothingness around him.
Balaklav lives and works in Jerusalem. His works are exhibited in museums, galleries and private collections in Israel and worldwide.

Awards
1987: Gold Medal at the International Film Festival, Tokyo
1995: Jerusalem Prize for Painting and Sculpture, Jerusalem
2002: The Israel Museum & Israel Discount Bank Prize for an Israeli Artist

Solo Exhibitions
1978: Scientists’ House, Kiev, Ukraine, USSR
1988: The Jewish Center, Moscow, USSR
1989: Central Artists’ House, Kishinev, Moldavia, USSR
1991: “Immigrant Artists”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv
1993: “Cypresses”, Artists’ House, Jerusalem
1994: “From There to Here”, Ein Harod Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Israel
1997: “Drawings ’93-’97”, Herzliya Museum of Art, Herzliya, Israel
1997: “New Works”, Artists’ House, Jerusalem
1998: “Landscape and Still-Life”, Artspace, Jerusalem
2000: “Portrait”, Artspace, Jerusalem
2002-2003: “The Face of the Light”, Ein Harod Museum, Ashdod Museum, Rehovot Museum, Mane-Katz Museum, Haifa, Bat Yam Museum (an exhibition of the Forum of Israeli Art Museums)

Group Exhibitions
1977-1986: Participated in ten group exhibitions in Moldavia, USSR
1990: “Immigrants ’90”, The Zionist Organization of America House, Tel Aviv
1990: “Immigrant Artists”, Artists’ House, Jerusalem
1990: “Russian Avantgarde”, Hilton Hotel, Jerusalem
1991: “Self-Portrait as ID Card”, Artists’ House, Jerusalem
1991: “Black and White”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv
1992: “Russian Artists in New York”, Michael Endo Gallery, New York
1992: “Art Focus”, Artists’ House, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
1992: Fisher Gallery, Mishkenot Sha’ananim, Jerusalem
1992: “New Acquisitions”, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1995: “Mirror Mirror”, Youth Wing, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1997: “At Eye Height”, Artists’ House, Jerusalem
1998: “Where Have We Come From and Where Are We Going?”, Yad Labanim, Petach Tiqva, Israel
1999: Exhibition of Awardees of the Jerusalem Prize, Municipal Gallery, Jerusalem
2000: “This is My Land”, Engel Gallery, Tel Aviv
2002: “Portrait”, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv