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Yehezkel Yardeni, Israeli, born Argentina 1934

Yehezkel Yardeni was born Jacinto Ikonikoff in Rivera, Argentina in 1934. His parents were immigrants of Russian origin who died while he was still a child. He grew up in a Jewish orphans’ home in Buenos Aires. In 1948 he began studying art with Maria Teresa Roig. In 1950 he joined the Socialist-Zionist Youth Movement “Gordonia,” and in 1952 he made Aliyah to Israel and was among the founders of Kibbutz Or HaNer. During the 1950s he taught art in the area of the kibbutz. In the 1960s he went to live in London, England. From 1963-1965 he served as assistant to the sculptor Henry Moore. He returned to Israel in 1970 and moved to Jerusalem in 1972.

Yardeni’s early works were in the field of sculpture. These works were influenced by the metal sculptures of Yehiel Shemi. In the 1960s Yardeni moved to painting, making use of weavings and textiles. After his return to Israel he was also involved in the planning of sculptures in public spaces, and participated in avant-garde projects such as “Messer-Metzer” (1972), “Nahal Hadera Symposium” (1973), and “Open Workshop” in the Israel Museum. In the 1980s and 1990s he began to use themes such as memory, war, and the Holocaust in his work.

Education

1948 Painting, with Maria Teresa Roig, Buenos Aires, Argentina
1956 Sculpture, with Dov Feigin
1956-1958 Oranim Art Institute, Kiryat Tivon
1960-1963 St. Martin’s School of Art, London, England

Teaching

1964-70 St. Martin's School of Art, London, UK
1970-76 Technion, Haifa
1974-79 Bezalel, Jerusalem
1976-79 Shenkar College for Textiles and Fashion Design, Ramat Gan
1979-80 College of Visual Arts, Beersheva
1980-1986 School for Art, Tel Aviv-Yaffo
1982-1997 Oranim, Tivon
1998 Guest Lecturer, Art School, Helsinki, Finland

Awards And Prizes

1959 Purchase Prize, Haifa Museum of Modern Art
1959 First Prize for Sculpture, The Painters and Sculptors Association, Tel Aviv
1960 Scholarship, America-Israel Cultural Foundation
1979-80, "Noah's Ark" Design Competition, Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, Jerusalem
1987 Ministery of Education Prize
2008 Cicla Award, Ashkelon