Siona Shimshi

Siona Shimshi
ציונה שמשי‎
Shimshi in 1963
Born(1939-07-14)July 14, 1939
Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine
DiedOctober 16, 2018(2018-10-16) (aged 79)
Tel Aviv, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
EducationAvni Institute, Alfred University, Greenwich House Pottery
Known forPainter, sculptor, textile designer
Notable work33 solo exhibitions, 50 group exhibitions, curator of 21 thematic exhibitions and the Israeli Internet Art Biennial (2012–2014)
SpouseJachin Hirsch (1934–2011)
AwardsArie El-Hanani: Prize for Art in Architecture (1988)
Patron(s)Collaborated with architects Dora Gad. Aba Elchanani, Rafael Blumenfeld, Heinz Penchel
Websiteart-sionashimshi.com

Siona Shimshi (also "Ziona"; Hebrew: ציונה שמשי; July 14, 1939 – October 16, 2018) was an Israeli painter, sculptor, ceramist, and textile designer.[1][2][3]

Early life

Siona Shimshi was born on July 14, 1939, in Tel Aviv, to Haya Rivka (Kuklanski) and Avraham Shimshi, who had immigrated to Mandate Palestine from Lithuania in 1933.[1][4][5][6] She married Jachin Hirsch, an Israeli filmmaker, in 1961.[7]

She studied at the Avni Institute in Tel Aviv from 1956 to 1959, with Avigdor Stematsky, Yehezkel Streichman, and Moshe Mokady.[4][8][9] She also studied ceramics at Alfred University in New York, from 1959 to 1962, as well as at Greenwich House Pottery in New York City.[4][5][10][11]

Art career

In 1965, she was a co-founder of a group of artists called the "10+ Group", along with artists Buky Schwartz, Raffi Lavie, and others.[12][13]

Shimshi was head of the Ceramic Design Department and taught as a professor at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, from 1979 to 1987.[4][8][14][15][16] In 1979, she designed the set for a performance of A Simple Story by Shmuel Yosef Agnon for the Habimah Theater in Tel Aviv.[4]

In 1993–94, she was the curator of an exhibition of Dora Gad, in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.[4][17]

Among her creations are a work in wood that is exhibited in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, a wall hanging at the Tel Aviv Hilton, a 1998 sculpture for Israel's 50th anniversary that is exhibited in Holon, glass walls at Kennedy Airport in New York City, and a 2004 portrait painting of Natan Alterman that appears on the facade of Tel Aviv City Hall.[4][18]

Awards

Shimshi was awarded the 1988 Arie El Hanani Prize by the Joshua Rabinowitz Foundation for Arts, for her sculpture in Goren Goldstein Park in Tel Aviv.[4]

Death

Shimshi died in Tel Aviv on October 16, 2018, at the age of 79.[19] She was buried at Yarkon Cemetery.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Dwila Bloom, Vincent Walter (1994). Multicultural art activities kit: ready-to-use lessons and projects with 194 drawings, photos, and color prints. ISBN 9780876285879. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  2. ^ Kirstin Olsen (1994). Chronology of women's history. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 250. ISBN 9780313288036. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  3. ^ Lois Decker O'Neill (1979). The Women's book of world records and achievements. Anchor Press/Doubleday. Retrieved August 3, 2011. siona Shimshi 1939.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h "Artists' Information". Israel Museum Information Center for Israeli Art. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  5. ^ a b Ruth Dayan, Wilburt Feinberg (1974). Crafts of Israel. ISBN 9780025344204. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  6. ^ "artsionashimshi.com". art-sionashimshi.com. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  7. ^ "artsionashimshi.com". art-sionashimshi.com. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  8. ^ a b Adrian M. Darmon (2003). Autour de l'art juif: encyclopédie des peintres, photographes et sculpteurs. Carnot. ISBN 9782848550114. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  9. ^ Ran Sheḥori (1976). Art in Israel. ISBN 9780805236057. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  10. ^ Emmanuel Cooper (2000). Ten thousand years of pottery. ISBN 0812235541. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  11. ^ Ruth Dayan, Wilburt Feinberg (1974). Crafts of Israel. ISBN 9780025344204. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  12. ^ Armon, Ellie (February 22, 2011). "Video art pioneer passes away at 77". Haaretz. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  13. ^ Gil Goldfine (March 28, 2008). "A round of applause for nostalgia". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  14. ^ International Association of Universities (1983). International handbook of universities and other institutions of higher education, Volume 9. ISBN 9783110097436. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  15. ^ Angela Levine (February 22, 1991). "Distinctive Pottery". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  16. ^ Meir Ronnen (May 23, 1997). "Crafty Art". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  17. ^ Saar, Yuval (March 15, 2011). "Dora Gad's private sanctuary". Haaretz. Retrieved August 3, 2011.
  18. ^ Will Grohmann; Sam Hunter (1966). New art around the world: painting and sculpture. H. N. Abrams. Retrieved August 3, 2011. siona Shimshi.
  19. ^ "האמנית הרב־תחומית ציונה שמשי מתה בגיל 79" (in Hebrew). haaretz.co.il. October 27, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2020.