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Siona Shimshi, Israeli, 1939-2018

Siona Shimshi was born in 1939. Her parents, Aharon Avraham Shimshi and Chaya Rivka Kuklanski, were immigrants from Lithuania who settled in Tel Aviv. In the second half of the 1950s she studied art at the Avni Institute. Between the years 1959-1962 she lived in New York, where she studied ceramics and also designed fabrics for Patel. In 1961 she married director Yachin Hirsch. Upon her return to Israel in 1962, Shimshi engaged in ceramic design and embroidery for Maskit (1963-1972), Rikma (1966-1979) and Lapid (1960s). In 1965 she was one of the founders of the "10+" group. Over the years, Shimshi created many works in the public sphere, including designs for carpets and fabrics, decorative walls and more. In addition to her artistic efficiency, she dealt with treasures and research. In 2007, she published a book, Read the Walls, together with Dalit Lahav and Yachin Hirsch.

Shimshi's works, beginning in the 1960s, dealt with the image of man as a symbol and an image. Her sculptures, made of burnt clay, display universal human figures. Beginning in the 1980s, she also emphasized elements of the human body.

Education

1953-1956 Art in a youth preparatory school
1956-1959 Avni Institute, Tel Aviv, with Avigdor Stematsky, Streichman and Mokady.
1960 Ceramic Design and Pottery Production, Alfred University, New York, USA

Teaching

Young Mizrachi Seminary
Kibbutz Seminar, Tel Aviv.
1959-1962 Greenwich House, New York, assistant
1979-1987 Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, Head of the Department of Ceramic Design.
College of Management, Interior Design,
Shenkar College of Engineering and Design, Ramat Gan
Lecturer at school for design and architecture, Tel Aviv

Awards And Prizes

1968 Prize for Innovation design, Israeli Institute of Design
1977 First Prize for Independence Day Poster
1998 Architect Arie El Hanani Prize for Integration of Art and Architecture, by the Ministry of Culture, Joshua Rabinowitz Fund, Peretz Naftali Fund and the El Hanani Family

Environmental Sculptures

Sculpture commemorating Israel's 50th anniversary.
Glass Walls: Comprehensive School, Dimona, Jewish Cemetery, Connecticut, USA, Psychiatric Hospital, Tirat-Hacarmel, ElAL Building, Tel Aviv, Kennedy Airport, New York.
Public Painting: 2004, POrtraits of Tli Cohen and Natan Alterman on the facade of Tel Aviv City Hall.