Haber, Shamai

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HABER, SHAMAI

HABER, SHAMAI (1922–1995), Israel sculptor. He was born in Lodz, Poland, and in 1935 emigrated to Palestine where he studied in Tel Aviv and fought in the War of Independence. From 1949 he lived in Paris. He worked close to nature, and created portraits under the influence of such French masters as Charles Despiau. In 1954 he turned to abstraction. In 1962 he produced his first monumental work for the atomic reactor building at Nahal Sorek (Nebi Rubin) in Israel. In 1965, together with Yitshak *Danziger, he created a monumental composition for the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. When he turned to abstraction Haber worked in stone. He used large blocks and assembled them in such a manner as to create a static relationship between the volumes and the spaces between them. The solitary presence of his sculpture in its surroundings has an archaic quality which is increased by his method of working the stone.

[Yona Fischer]