Avner Sher (; born 1951) is an Israeli architect and artist.
Biography Avner Sher was born in the Wadi Salib neighborhood of Haifa, and raised in Kiryat Eliezer and Kiryat Eliyahu. His parents were Holocaust survivors.”Boneh vehores”, Yoram Mark-Reich, Yediot Haifa, February 28, 2014 (Hebrew) Sher was an only child. His mother died of cancer when he was 14 years old. In elementary school, he drew cartoons for his school newspaper."Images in the chaos", Hili Moyal, Makor Rishon, November 9, 2012 (Hebrew) From the age of 6 he studied piano at Beit Hagefen in Haifa. A rock band he organized with friends performed the opening act for established musicians, among them Zvika Pik. He began composing at 17, but abandoned music at 22 and decided to become a painter.
He enrolled at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design but his father insisted that he learn a profession."Minister of planning", Jenny Elazari, Yedioth Hadera, July 8, 2014, pp. 52-54”A New Inner World,” Alim Blitenthal, Makor Rishon, January 10, 2003 He completed his studies in architecture at the Technion in Haifa in 1979, graduating with honors. While working as an architect, Sher also learn arts from the University of Haifa.
Architecture career Sher opened his architecture firm in 1992. He has designed many shopping centers and malls in Israel, including the malls in Mevasseret Zion, Ramle, Zichron Yaakov, Raanana, Nahariya, Beersheba, Carmiel, Kiryat Bialik, Kiryat Ata, Kfar Saba, Netanya, Yokne’am and Eilat.“Dream Architects", Ynet, May 29, 2011 (Hebrew) Other public buildings designed by Sher are the Kiryat Motzkin municipality and the courthouse in the Krayot.The deal in the 30-floor ToHa tower would be the company’s biggest in Israel, Globes, June 25, 2017
Art career
In 1999, Sher moved to Tel Aviv and had an experience that changed his life: He stopped at a gas station near Beit Yanai and saw that the restroom walls were covered with graffiti. Captivated by the wildness and artistic freedom they conveyed, he felt the urge to tear down barriers in his own work. He began to paint and draw on cork panels mounted on wood, lacerating the surface with knives, screwdrivers and electric saws, burning it with a wood-burning etching pencil and splattering it with substances like coffee, mud, ketchup and red wine. His work is also rooted in the iconography of the Levant. He references ancient visual languages and hieroglyphics while maintaining a universal theme combining prehistoric elements and childlike symbolism.Avner Sher Common motifs in his work are fish, faces, spirals and images of flora and fauna. Sometimes he incorporates Biblical verses, especially from the Book of Genesis and Psalms. As the son of parents who survived Dachau, Sher grew up in the shadow of the Holocaust and the numbers tattooed on their arms. The tattoo thus became a visual code in his work. Avner Sher, upcoming exhibition: Monaco
His first important show was in 2002 at Mabat Gallery in Tel Aviv in 2002."The Madness of Destruction", Anat Medan, Yediot Ahronot, January 31, 2003 Since then, he has had over 20 solo exhibits and has taken part in over 30 group exhibits in Israel and around the world. At the Jerusalem Biennale in 2017, Sher presented his installation “950m2 – Alternative Topographies,” which was displayed at the Tower of David Museum overlooking the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City.Smadar Sheffi, 950m2 Composed of two series, “Maps of Jerusalem” and “Spoila,” the installation explores the idea of “perpetually devolving city space.” Alternative Topographies, Curator Smadar Sheffi, Jerusalem Biennale site At the pan-European art biennale Manifesta 12 in Palermo, Italy, Sher’s installation addresses the issue of migration and refugees making “bold, sometimes ironic use of symbols.”Avner Sher: “Bridge Palermo Jerusalem” Exhibition
Selected solo exhibitions 2018 – Bridge Palermo Jerusalem, Palermo, ItalyThe artist Avner Sher shows Bridge Palermo Jerusalem at Manifesta, reflecting on migration past and present, FAD Magazine 2017 - 950m2 Alternative Topographies, Tower of David museum, Jerusalem Biennale, Jerusalem 2015 – Landmarks, Artists House, Tel Aviv"Landmarks", Hagit Peleg Rotem, Globes, 27–28 August 2015 2014 – A Bird on a Wire, Bar David Museum, Kibbutz Bar'amSelf-portrait as an elderly child 2014 – Jacob’s Dream, New York 2014 – The Secret, Jaffa Port 2002 – This is His Tattoo, Mabat Gallery, Tel Aviv
See also Visual arts in Israel List of Israeli visual artists Architecture of Israel
References
External links Scratching Images Interview at Scope Miami 2017