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Smadar Sheffi

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Smadar Sheffi
Born1963 (age 62–63)
OccupationCritic, Curator
EducationHebrew University
SubjectArt

Smadar Sheffi (Hebrew: סמדר שפי) is an art critic, researcher of art and culture, and a curator of contemporary art.[1] She founded the Contemporary Art Center, Ramle – CACR (2019 - 2024) and was the Chief Curator.[2] She specializes in curating exhibitions in historical venues, such as the Bialik House Museum in Tel Aviv,[3] Jerusalem Artists House,[4] Contemporary Art Center, Ramla - CACR, and the Pool of Arches, Ramla.[5] Sheffi's bilingual blog of art criticism and notes on contemporary culture, The Window, has been active since 2012.[6]

Biography

[edit]

Smadar Sheffi holds a Ph.D. in Art History from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[7] Her doctoral dissertation, "From Vienna to Jerusalem: Forgotten portraits by Grete Wolf Krakauer", was written under the direction of Gannit Ankori. Since 2018 Sheffi has been a lecturer at the COLLMAN - College of Management Academic Studies, Rishon Lezion. She is a past lecturer at the Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Institute for Israeli Art.[8] Her research interests include representations of the Holocaust in contemporary art,[9] Israeli art and Modernism.

Since 2013 Sheffi is the contemporary art curator of the Bialik Museum in Tel Aviv.[10] In 2023, the book Art. Bialik. was published by the Municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo on the occasion of the 150th centennial events marking the birth of the national poet. The book is a compilation of the exhibitions from 2013 to 2023 and an anthology of the writings by Bialik that inspired them.[11]

Sheffi was the chief curator of the CACR – Contemporary Art Center Ramla, an art initiative she launched in 2019. The curatorial program she led welcomed difference and multiple viewpoints as core values, addressing issues of diversity and civil society as reflected in contemporary Israeli art.[12][13]

Since 2024, she has been editing and curating an annual literature–art project in collaboration with the Institut français in Tel Aviv, focusing on the works of major figures in French literature: Georges Perec[14][15] in 2024 and Marcel Proust[16][17] in 2025. Each project comprises a group exhibition of contemporary Israeli art in dialogue with the featured author's work, alongside a public cultural program.

From the project "Proust – Tel Aviv – Proust" 2025

In recent years, she has curated several solo exhibitions for leading artists, including Yoav Weinfeld at the Eretz Israel Museum,[18][19] Michal Heiman at Mishkenot Sha'ananim as part of the opening events of the International Writers Festival,[20] and Merav Shin Ben-Alon at Max Liebling House in Tel Aviv.[21][22]

Sheffi curated two exhibitions in 2023–2024 at the Laurie M. Tisch Gallery at the JCC, Manhattan: "Tales + Textiles" and "Cities and Valleys".[23][24]

Continuing her research on contemporary Israeli art, Sheffi delivered lectures at the Summer University for Jewish Studies, Hohenems, Austria ("Food in Modern Israeli Art"); The Jewish Museum, Munich ("Reflection on the 'other': The image of the Arab in Israeli Art"); and at the American University, Washington DC at the conference Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel ("Portraying states of uprootedness in Israeli art").

Sheffi is frequently interviewed in Israeli Media,[25] was the art critic for Galei Zahal Radio from 2007 to 2023, and for 20 years was the art critic for leading Haaretz.[26] She is the author of numerous catalog articles and gallery texts, an art consultant, and leader of in-depth Israeli and international art tours.

Curated exhibitions

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Publications

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  • 2013 - Catalog for solo exhibition by Beverly Barkat
  • 2015 - Catalog for solo exhibition by Eric Eliahou Bokobza – United Colors of Judaica
  • 2015 - Booklet for solo exhibition by Lisa Gross Turmoil
  • 2016 - Exhibition Catalog, Intricate Affinities: Recollections of Western Tradition in Local Contemporary Art, Petach Tikva Museum of Art
  • 2018 - Catalog of the exhibition, Grete Wolf Krakauer: From Vienna to Jerusalem
  • 2023 - The book Art. Bialik., Bialik Museum, Tel Aviv

Interviews and podcasts

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Dr. Smadar Sheffi". Institute for Israeli Art (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  2. ↑ נסגר המרכז לאמנות עכשווית ברמלה [The Contemporary Art Center in Ramle has closed]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 2024-07-02. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  3. 1 2 3 "Full list of exhibitions in the Bialik Museum website" (in Hebrew).
  4. ↑ "Partial Portrait: Fragmented Identities / Group Exhibition".
  5. ↑ "From New York to Ramle – modern art in an ancient setting puts Israeli city on the map". JewishInsider. 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  6. ↑ "The Window Art Blog".
  7. ↑ "From Vienna to Jerusalem: Forgotten portraits by Grete Wolf Krakauer". Hebrew University Listings (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  8. ↑ "Dr. Smadar Sheffi". Institute for Israeli Art. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  9. ↑ Nadell, Pamela S. "Examining Anti-Semitism on College Campuses". American Jewish History. 105: 189–194. Retrieved 2023-11-14.
  10. ↑ בין דממה לאימה: התערוכה של יאנה רוטנר מחברת את ביאליק לג'ון קייג' [Between Silence and Horror: Jana Rotner's Exhibition Connects Bialik with John Cage]. Haaretz (in Hebrew). 2021-01-04. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  11. ↑ Art. Bialik. Bialik Museum, Tel Aviv. 2023. ISBN 978-965-598-375-3.
  12. ↑ "Below an Israeli City, a Musical Harmony Belies the Tensions Above Ground". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  13. ↑ "Exhibit in Israeli Jewish-Arab city shows inclusive take on life". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
  14. 1 2 "Perec – Tel Aviv – Perec". Institut français (in French). Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  15. 1 2 "About the exhibition Perec – Tel Aviv – Perec". Haaretz (in Hebrew). 2024-11-19. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  16. 1 2 "Proust – Tel Aviv – Proust". Institut français (in French). Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  17. 1 2 "About the exhibition Proust – Tel Aviv – Proust". Haaretz (in Hebrew). 2025-12-16. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  18. 1 2 "Wuthering Heights". Eretz Israel Museum. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  19. 1 2 "עוצם עין אחת - שיר משמר". Haaretz (in Hebrew). 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  20. 1 2 "מיכל היימן: סימני פיסוק". Mishkenot Sha'ananim. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  21. 1 2 "The Jewish Hospital". Max Liebling House. Retrieved 2026-01-27.
  22. 1 2 סיפורו המיוחד של בית החולים היהודי בברסלאו מונצח בתערוכה עכשווית [The unique story of the Jewish Hospital in Breslau is commemorated in a contemporary exhibition]. YNET (in Hebrew). 2025-01-27. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  23. 1 2 3 "'Past Exhibits' on the Manhattan JCC website".
  24. ↑ "Haunting, poignant, unsettling, riveting — images from the precarious lives of artists in a diverse Israeli city". Forward. 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  25. ↑ "Smadar Sheffi on Kan 11".
  26. ↑ "Smadar Sheffi's articles in Haaretz".
  27. ↑ "Clip from Bank Leumi's youtube site".
  28. ↑ "Exhibition on the Rothschild Fine Art website".
  29. ↑ "Website of Beit Hatfutsoth-Museum of the Jewish People".
  30. ↑ "Exhibition on the Rothschild Fine Art website".
  31. ↑ "Work at Chelouche Gellery".
  32. ↑ "Exhibition on the Museum website".
  33. ↑ "Exhibition on the Jerusalem Artist's House website".
  34. ↑ "Exhibition on the Jerusalem Biennale website".
  35. ↑ "Exhibition on the art and culture magazine of "Kan 11"".
  36. ↑ "Almacen Gallery website".
  37. ↑ "FEST TARBUT – Celebrating 60 Years of German-Israeli Diplomatic Relations". Ministry for Federal and European Affairs and International Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
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