Shemi Yehiel

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Born in 1922, son of  Ester and Moshe Stizberg

Lived and worked in Kibbutz Cabri, Israel

Died 2003 in Kibbutz Cabri

 

1923-1938      Lived in Haifa, studied at the "Reali" High School. Studied painting in 

                         classes taught by Prof. Paul Konrad Hoenich of the Technion
1939                Participated in the founding of Kibbutz Beit-Ha'arava, north of the Dead Sea
                         Painted in oil, sketched and began sculpting in stone and wood
1940                Married Chaviva Zabarsky. Three children will be born of their marriage
1941                Began sculpting in stone at the studio of Itzhak Danziger in Tel Aviv
1945-1948      Sent as emissary of the Hechalutz movement to the U.S.A. and there 
                         became acquainted with modern art and art history 
1949                Joined his fellow members of Kibbutz Beit-Ha'arava in Kibbutz Cabri 
                         in Western Galilee where they had relocated
1950-1952      Served as Secretary of Kibbutz Cabri. Helped organize art seminars for 
                         artists who were members of kibbutzim 
1952-1963      Member of the "New Horizons" group
1954                Received the Dizengoff Prize for Sculpture
1956                Showed iron sculptures for the first time, at the "New Horizons" exhibition
1959-1961      Lived and worked in Paris, France
1966                Received the Milo Prize for Art
1967                Lived and worked for half a year at the Nachal settlement Kalya, north of the Dead Sea, where the landscape reminded him of Beit Ha'arava
1968                Unveiling of Sea Sculpture at Achziv beach, Israel 
1971                Erected concrete and iron sculptures at the Jerusalem Theater 
                         Experiments with aluminum castings using the "lost wax" method
1972                Unveiling of the Monument for the Fallen of the 8th Brigade, at Ben Gurion Airport, Israel 
                         Renewal of connection with Betty Parsons
1972-1982      Worked in Kibbutz Cabri and in New York
Since 1973     In addition to sculpting, began to work in collage on paper, etching and prints
1981                Was awarded the Sandberg Art Prize by the Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1982-1990      Created sculptures combining wood and iron 
1986                Received the Israel Prize for Sculpture

Since 1988     Began to paint in oil and asphalt on linen and jute canvases

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1957                "Yehiel Shemi", Tel Aviv Museum Of Art, Israel
                         Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem
1960                "Yehiel Shemi", Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
1964                Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium 
1966                "Yehiel Shemi, Sculptures 1962-1966", Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Helena Rubinstein Pavilion, Tel Aviv, Israel
1967                The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1973                Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
1975                "Yehiel Shemi", Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
1976                “Involucrum Sculpture”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1978                “Factors into One”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1979                “Collages on Paper and Tar-Paper, and Sculptures”, Debel Gallery, Ein Kerem, Jerusalem
1980                “Syllables: Wall Sculptures”, Betty Parsons Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
1981                “Syllables: Iron Sculptures”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1982                “Wood and Iron Sculptures”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1984                Mishkenot Sha’ananim Gallery, Jerusalem
1985                “Syllables”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1986                “Two Sculptures in Wood and Iron”, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1988                “Yehiel Shemi A Representative Exhibition”, Museum of Israel Art, Ramat Gan, Israel 
1990                "Paintings", the Gallery at Kibbutz Cabri, Israel
                         "Etchings and Lithographs", The Print Workshop, Jerusalem
1993                "Facts – Wall Sculptures – Siftah to Avot Yeshurun", Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1994                "Wall Sculptures", the Gallery at Kibbutz Cabri, Israel
1995                "Yehiel Shemi '93-'95: Sculptures and Paintings", The Open Museum, Tefen, Israel
1997                "Yehiel Shemi Retrospective", Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
2001                “Atelier Shemi”, Kibbutz Cabri, Israel

2003                “Shemi’s Papers”, The City Gallery, Rehovot, Israel

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

1952                "Artists of the 'Hakibbutz Hameuchad'", Kibbutz Na'an, Israel
1953                The fifth "New Horizons" exhibition, Tel Aviv Museum, Dizengoff House, Israel
1955                The sixth "New Horizons" exhibition, Tel Aviv Museum, Dizengoff House, Israel
1956                The seventh "New Horizons" exhibition, Tel Aviv Museum, Dizengoff House, Israel
1957                The eighth "New Horizons" exhibition, Museum of Modern Art, Haifa, Israel
1958                International Sculpture Exhibition, Middleheim Museum, Antwerp, Belgium
                         "New Acquisitions", Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A.
                         The Fourth International Biennale, Sao Paulo, Brazil
1959                The ninth "New Horizons" exhibition, Tel Aviv Museum, Helena Rubinstein Pavilion, Israel 
1960                Salon de Réalités Nouvelles, Paris, France
1961                "The Second International Sculpture Exhibition", Rodin Museum, Paris, France
1962                "International Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture", Carnegie Foundation, Pittsburgh, Penn. U.S.A.
1963                "Select Exhibition of Israeli Artists ", Tel Aviv Museum (on the occasion of the International Congress of Art Critics in Israel), Israel
1964                Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A.
1965                "Trends in Israeli Art", The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
                         "Autumn Exhibition", Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
1966                "Birds in Contemporary Art", Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
1969                "Three Sculptors: Gross, Danziger, Shemi", Museum of Modern Art, Haifa, Israel
1971                "Israeli Art", Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
1979                "The Thirtieth Anniversary of New Horizons", Museum of Modern Art, Haifa, Israel
1981                "Artists from Israel", The Jewish Museum, New York, U.S.A.
1983                "Sculptors' Etchings: Shemi, Gitlin, Rikman, Tumarkin", Jerusalem Print 
                         Workshop, and the Gallery of Ben-Gurion University, Be'er Sheva, Israel
1984                "80 Years of Sculpture in Israel", The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1985                "Milestones in Israeli Art", The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1987                "Yehiel Shemi Invites", Hakibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1988                "The Quest for Identity", The Open Museum, Tefen, Israel
1990                "Place and Mainstream: Israeli Sculpture to Japan", Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan, Israel
1991                "The Common Element – Iron: Yaacov Dorchin, Motti Meller, Yehiel Shemi", Herzliya Museum of Art, Israel
1992                "Position Israel", Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
1994                "Dialogues between Painting and Sculpture", The Art Gallery, Haifa University, Israel 
                         "Prints: A Tribute to the Jerusalem Print Workshop", The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
1995                "Etchings and Lithographs", Bineth Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
1996                "New Horizons Sculpture", Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel

 

 

Collections
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel
Haifa Museum of Modern Art, Israel
The Chaim Attar Museum of Art, Ein Harod, Israel
The Open Museum, Tefen, Israel
The Israel Phoenix Collection, Tel Aviv, Israel
Museum of Modern Art, New York, U.S.A.
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., U.S.A.
Storm King Museum of Sculpture, New York, U.S.A.
The Desert Museum, Palm Springs, Florida, U.S.A.
Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium

 

 

Documentary Films
1966                A Visit with Shemi, A.B.C., written and directed by Marc Siegel
1970                Directions: Shemi, A.B.C., written and directed by Marc Siegel
1996                Meni Pe'er talks with Yehiel Shemi, from the series Artists Talk with Meni Pe'er, produced by the Israel Film Service in collaboration with the Public Council for Culture and Art, the Department for Visual Arts

 

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