Avner Sher

{{Short description|Israeli architect and artist (born 1951)}} thumb|right|Avner Sher '''Avner Sher''' ({{Langx|he|אבנר שר}}; 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.<ref name="Yoram Mark-Reich">”Boneh vehores”, Yoram Mark-Reich, Yediot Haifa, February 28, 2014 (Hebrew)</ref> 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.<ref name="Hili Moyal"> [https://musaf-shabbat.com/2012/11/09/%D7%93%D7%99%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%91%D7%AA%D7%95%D7%9A-%D7%94%D7%9B%D7%90%D7%95%D7%A1-%D7%94%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99-%D7%9E%D7%95%D7%99%D7%90%D7%9C/ "Images in the chaos"], Hili Moyal, Makor Rishon, November 9, 2012 (Hebrew) </ref> 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.<ref name="Yoram Mark-Reich"/>

He enrolled at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design but his father insisted that he learn a profession.<ref name="Jenny Elazari"> "Minister of planning", Jenny Elazari, Yedioth Hadera, July 8, 2014, pp. 52-54 </ref><ref name="Alim Blitenthal"> ”A New Inner World,” Alim Blitenthal, Makor Rishon, January 10, 2003</ref> 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.<ref name="Jenny Elazari"/>

==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.<ref>[https://xnet.ynet.co.il/vod/articles/0,14716,L-3083232,00.html “Dream Architects"], Ynet, May 29, 2011 (Hebrew)</ref><ref name="Hili Moyal"/><ref name="Jenny Elazari"/> Other public buildings designed by Sher are the Kiryat Motzkin municipality and the courthouse in the Krayot.<ref>[https://en.globes.co.il/en/article-wework-in-talks-to-lease-15-floors-in-tel-aviv-high-rise-1001194028 The deal in the 30-floor ToHa tower would be the company’s biggest in Israel], Globes, June 25, 2017</ref>

==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.<ref name="Alim Blitenthal"/> 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.<ref name="Alim Blitenthal"/> 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.<ref>[http://www.artmarketisrael.com Avner Sher]</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.kosherdelight.com/Monaco_Avner_Sher_Art.shtml Avner Sher, upcoming exhibition: Monaco]</ref>

His first important show was in 2002 at Mabat Gallery in Tel Aviv in 2002.<ref name="Hili Moyal"/><ref name="Alim Blitenthal"/><ref name="Anat Medan">"The Madness of Destruction", Anat Medan, Yediot Ahronot, January 31, 2003</ref> 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.<ref>Smadar Sheffi, 950m2</ref> Composed of two series, “Maps of Jerusalem” and “Spoila,” the installation explores the idea of “perpetually devolving city space.” <ref name="Jerusalem Biennale">[http://www.jerusalembiennale.org/alternative-topography/ Alternative Topographies, Curator Smadar Sheffi], Jerusalem Biennale site</ref> 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.”<ref>[https://aicf.org/event/avner-sher-bridge-palermo-jerusalem-exhibition/ Avner Sher: “Bridge Palermo Jerusalem” Exhibition]</ref>

==Selected solo exhibitions== *2018 – Bridge Palermo Jerusalem, Palermo, Italy<ref>[https://fadmagazine.com/2018/06/13/artist-avner-sher-shows-bridge-palermo-jerusalem-manifesta-reflecting-migration-past-present-extensive-solo-show/ The artist Avner Sher shows Bridge Palermo Jerusalem at Manifesta, reflecting on migration past and present, FAD Magazine]</ref> *2017 - 950m2 Alternative Topographies, Tower of David museum, Jerusalem Biennale, Jerusalem<ref name="Jerusalem Biennale"/> * 2015 – Landmarks, Artists House, Tel Aviv<ref>"Landmarks", Hagit Peleg Rotem, Globes, 27–28 August 2015</ref> * 2014 – A Bird on a Wire, Bar David Museum, Kibbutz Bar'am<ref>[http://www.kotar.co.il/KotarApp/Index/Chapter.aspx?nBookID=101392383&nTocEntryID=101392819 Self-portrait as an elderly child]</ref> * 2014 – Jacob’s Dream, New York<ref name="Yoram Mark-Reich"/> * 2014 – The Secret, Jaffa Port<ref name="Yoram Mark-Reich"/> * 2002 – This is His Tattoo, Mabat Gallery, Tel Aviv<ref name="Hili Moyal"/><ref name="Alim Blitenthal"/><ref name="Anat Medan"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6uWLvu677c Scratching Images] *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6uWLvu677c Interview at Scope Miami 2017]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sher, Avner}} Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Israeli artists Category:Israeli architects