Itzik Benshalom
Israeli, born 1945#650, n.d.
On view
Bronze
Dimensions39 × 39 × 20 in. (99.1 × 99.1 × 50.8 cm)
Gift of the Diskin family in memory of Philip A. Diskin, 2000.34
Benshalom was born in Hadera, Israel, in 1945. As a young man he studied the lost wax process of casting sculpture with practicing artisans. In 1975 he established a foundry focusing on the lost wax technique. Later he began to create his own figural works.
Human relationships and emotions particularly interest the artist, as is seen in his sculptures. These are usually in pairs or familial groupings. Benshalom has defined his artistic purpose as such: "The twentieth century artist has to work primarily within the psyche of alienation. The overlay of modern existence which seems to be communicated more by electronic media then anything else, denies basic human emotion, love, anger, understanding, all are reduced to cypher. I see my work as an attempt to remind people of a more primal form of humanism. In a sense, I see a need to redefine emotion." In the process, he creates abstracted figural forms interacting with one another and the universe.
Itzik Benshalom lives in Israel with his wife Hannah, an artist, and three children.
