Bidspirit auction | Yechiel Shemi- יחיאל שמי

Yechiel Shemi- יחיאל שמי - לוחם. Yechiel Shemi ‎(1922-2003) was an Israeli sculptor. His environmental sculptures are displayed in open spaces around the country. Yechiel Shemi, Jerusalem Theater Biography Yechiel Stizberg (later Shemi), was born to Moshe and Esther Stizberg. When he was two months old the family immigrated to Mandate Palestine and settled in Haifa. 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 Kibbutz Beit HaArava, located north of the Dead Sea. Alongside his agricultural work, Stizberg created landscape drawings and paintings, but then moved to sculpting. In 1942 he joined his friend Yitzhak Danziger's studio where he painted for 3 months. In 1945 he changed his last name to Shemi and joined the HeHalutz Movement as a courier, carrying out missions in Italy, France and Egypt. While on assignment in New York, he studied with Chaim 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 Kibbutz Kabri in the Galilee. In 1950-52, Shemi served as the kibbutz secretary. Influenced by Avigdor Stematsky and Joseph Zaritsky, he became a member of the New Horizons Group in 1952. In 1966 Shemi moved to Kibbutz Gadot for a half year.WIKIPEDIA