Iconic Israeli Artist Menashe Kadishman Dies at 82
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Lior Zaltzman May 8, 2015
Iconic Israeli artist, Menashe Kadishman, at Tel ha’Shomer hospital.
A sheep herder in his youth, he was most famous for his paintings of sheep. Of his obsession with sheep he said: “The sheep is a secular icon, that, in my eyes, is metaphorically connected to soldiers who died in wars.”
Kadishman is also known for his installation, ‘Fallen Leaves’, at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, which is composed of a thousand metal faces that visitors of the museum can walk on.
Kadishman's 'Fallen Leaves' Image by Getty Images
Kadishman graduated from St. Martins College of Art. In the 60s, he was affiliated with Warhol and Rauschenberg and was renowned in the international art scene. In 1968, he was Israel’s representative at the Venice Biennale, where he brought a herd of sheep, painted spots on them, and became a sheep herder for the installation.
Kadishman’s sculptures can be seen all across Israel and the world. His most famous one is ‘Uprise’, in HaBima Square, Tel Aviv. In 1995 he was awarded an Israel Prize for his sculptures.
He is survived by a son and a daughter.
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