Yechiel Shemi יחיאל שמי | |
|---|---|
 Yechiel Shemi | |
| Born | 1922 (1922) |
| Died | October 31, 2003(2003-10-31) (aged 80–81) |
| Awards | Sandberg Award Israel Prize for sculpture |
Yechiel Shemi (Hebrew:יחיאל שמי; 1922-2003) was anIsraeli sculptor. His environmental sculptures are displayed in open spaces around the country.[1]
Yechiel Stizberg (later Shemi), was born to Moshe and Esther Stizberg. When he was two months old the familyimmigrated to Mandate Palestine and settled inHaifa. At the age of 14 he joined the Mahane Avoda youth movement and began to study art with Paul Henich. In 1938, he was one of the founders of KibbutzBeit HaArava, located north ofthe Dead Sea. Alongside his agricultural work, Stizberg created landscape drawings and paintings, but then moved to sculpting.
In 1942, he joined his friendYitzhak Danziger's studio, where he painted for 3 months. In 1945, he changed his last name to Shemi and joined theHeHalutz Movement as a courier, carrying out missions in Italy, France, and Egypt. While on assignment in New York, he studied withChaim Gross, who exposed him to modern art and art history.
During the War of Independence, Kibbutz Bet Haarava was abandoned, and all the artwork he left in the kibbutz was lost. Upon his return to Israel in 1949, he joined KibbutzKabri in theGalilee. In 1950-52, Shemi served as the kibbutz secretary. Influenced byAvigdor Stematsky andJoseph Zaritsky, he became a member of the New Horizons Group in 1952. In 1966, Shemi moved to KibbutzGadot for half a year.
In 1959-1961, Shemi studied art in Paris. In 1977-1979, he taught sculpting and lectured on environmental sculpture atOranim Teachers College. He also taught at theTechnion in Haifa and theEin Hod artist's colony. Shemi was a member ofNew Horizons group.[2] In the mid-1950s, Shemi's artwork changed drastically; one of the changes he made was changing his material for his sculptures from wood and stone to metal materials. His first metal bird sculpture was made in 1955. During the years 1955-1957, Shemi created a series of sculptures of abstract figures of animals and humans. A few of these sculptures were exhibited in the seventh exhibition of New Horizons that opened in 1957 at theIndependence Hall (Israel). Exhibiting some 30 sculptures by Shemi. During 1957-1956, Shemi created the sculpture group "Nest".
In 1962, Shemi began to create expressive works from scrap metal. During the 1960s, he showed his assemblage sculpture in solo exhibitions atCentre for Fine Arts, Brussels in 1964. Shemi had additional solo exhibitions at theTel Aviv Museum of Art in 1966 and at theIsrael Museum in 1967. He also created two large public sculptures.
In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Shemi changed his technique. Instead of using ready-made objects, he reduced his art to geometric shapes. In 1995, a retrospective exhibit was held at theTefen Sculpture Garden.
In 198,1 Shemi was awarded theSandberg Prize from the Israel Museum. In 1986, the Israel Prize for sculpture, together withBatia Lishansky. In 1988 Adam Baruch published the book "Yehiel Shemi: Sculptures" and a solo exhibit was help in the Ramat Gan Museum of Art.
After a show in the United States in the 1960s, theMuseum of Modern Art acquired his work. Shemi was the first Israeli artist to have his work purchased by the MoMA.[3]
Shemi won the Sandberg Prize in 1981 and theIsrael Prize for sculpture in 1986. In 1966 and 1997, theTel Aviv Museum of Art mounted exhibitions of his work.[4]
In 1997 a retrospective exhibit of his works was held at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art with a biographical catalog byMichael Sgan-Cohen. In 1998 the "Yehiel Shemi Papers" was published by the author Agassi, based on a series of conversations with Shemi.
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