Yehezkel Streichman (Hebrew:יחזקאל שטרייכמן; 1906 – January 12, 1993) was an Israeli painter.[1][2][3] He is considered a pioneer of Israelimodernist painting.[4] Among the awards that he won were theDizengoff Prize and theIsrael Prize.
Streichman studied at theBezalel Academy of Art and Design with Arie Aroch in 1924–27.[4] He also studied underYitzhak Frenkel in theHistadrut Art Studio inTel Aviv.[7] He, like other students of Frenkel followed his advise to complement their studies in Paris. Thus he left for France, completing his studies in Paris at theÉcole des Beaux-Arts (1927) and in Florence at the Academy of Art (1928–31).[4][8] He taught painting throughout his life; in elementary and high schools in 1936, at Kibbutz Ashdot Yaakov in 1941, and at theAvni Institute in Tel Aviv in 1944 and from 1954–79.[8] Among those who studied with him were Israeli sculptorDani Karavan and Israeli abstract artistLea Nikel, also the painterYehuda Neiman.[9][10][11]
He andAvigdor Stematsky formed the Studia Art School in 1944.[1][10][12][13] In 1964, he and Yechiel Shemi and other artists formed a group of artists called Tatzpit (Vantage Point).[14]
He participated in 24thVenice Biennale (1948), the 28th Venice Biennale (1954), the 3rdSão Paulo Art Biennial (1955), and the 33rd Venice Biennale (1966).[8] He was President of the Israeli Artists and Painters Union.[15]
His painting style involved using successive thick layers of paint.[1][16][17] He was an acclaimed painter in what was known as themodernist "New Horizons" (Ofakim Hadashim) group in 1950sTel Aviv, which he founded in 1948 along withJoseph Zaritsky and Stematsky.[18] It painted in a French "lyrical abstraction" style.[19][20]
Streichman won theDizengoff Prize multiple times (1941, 1944, 1954, 1969), theRamat Gan Prize (1956), the Moadon Milo Prize (1968), the Sandberg Prize for Israeli Art, awarded by theIsrael Museum (1974), theHistadrut Prize (1986), theIsrael Prize (1990).[4][8][15][21][22]In 1948 he participated in 24thVenice Biennale. During the years 1941–44 he was a member of Kibbutz Ashdot Ya'akov. During 1945–48 he foundedThe Studio inTel Aviv with Stematsky. In 1948 Streichman was one of the founders ofNew Horizon Group. In 1981 he was made an Honorary citizen of Tel Aviv and in 1992 Honorary President of the Association of Artists and sculptors.
He died on January 12, 1993, inTel Aviv, at the age of 86.[15]
A street in theNofei Yam neighborhood of Tel Aviv is named after him in acknowledgment of his contributions to the arts.
