Yehi’el Shemi (1922–2003)

Yehi’el Shemi (1922–2003), an Israeli sculptor and painter and recipient of the 1986 Israel Prize for Sculpture, was one of the key figures in Israeli art. As a prominent member of the New Horizons group, Shemi helped bring about a major breakthrough in local sculpture, shifting it away from traditional figurative representation toward abstract sculpture in iron.

About the Artwork

During the 1980s and 1990s, as part of his later artistic period, Shemi created Syllables, a series of abstract, minimalist sculptures. The series is characterized by the use of exposed, unadorned materials, including iron plates, steel, and wood, with particular emphasis on the joints connecting the individual elements.

The series’ title, derived from the linguistic term syllable (a phonological unit used to organize speech sounds), underscores the abstract nature of these works. Shemi conceived of art and sculpture as a form of pure visual linguistics—a language that requires no message, symbol, literary narrative, or ritual. His works embody a secular spirit in the sense of creative freedom, openness to ideas, and liberation from imposed constraints. Just as spoken syllables create rhythm and structure in language, Shemi repeats a visual unit with subtle variations. The viewer and the surrounding landscape imaginatively supply the consonants, giving rise to a visual word in space.

The sculpture’s composition is diagonal and dynamic, consisting of two wooden beams resting on a pair of iron profiles, which are positioned on an iron base plate. The arrangement is similar to his 1986 sculpture Syllables of Ginosar. This structure highlights the potential for the individual elements to be dismantled and reassembled. Furthermore, as part of Shemi’s minimalist exploration of sculptural mass and gravity, the work creates a sense of tension and precarious balance, as though even the slightest movement could disrupt its equilibrium and cause the sculpture to fall.