MENASHE KADISHMAN

Born in Tel Aviv in 1932, Menashe Kadishman began his artistic career as a sculptor. His work developed from abstract forms and interventions in the landscape to expressive paintings and sculpture.

Nature remained a recurring presence throughout his career. Sheep became one of his most recognizable motifs, while themes of sacrifice, memory and human vulnerability gave his work an emotional and social dimension.

Kadishman’s practice extended beyond a single medium. Sculpture, painting and works on paper offered different ways to investigate the relationship between natural forms and constructed spaces. His international museum records place these individual works within a wider artistic career.

Kadishman’s sheep paintings combine a familiar subject with changing colors, gestures and expressions. Across his work, the boundary between landscape, living form and human experience is continually reconsidered.

His sculpture and the recurring theme of the Binding of Isaac address questions of loss, responsibility and the effects of violence.

His work of the 1970s also included abstract drawings on telephone-directory pages, transforming the printed urban grid through color and gesture. These experiments reveal a different side of an artist widely associated with the image of the sheep.

The sheep portraits can be viewed together through their differences: a repeated face changes character through the surrounding shapes, the painted eyes and the balance of warm and cool colors. The selection below offers a closer look at this visual variety.

A small selection of original paintings from the Art & Twist collection: expansive compositions, expressive sheep portraits and contrasting uses of color. Artwork numbers and dimensions identify each work.