The Artist:
Calman Shemi, sculptor and painter, was born in Argentina in 1939. A graduate of the School of Sculpture and Ceramics in Mendoza, he studied with the Italian- Argentine sculptor Libero Badii, and the German-Israeli sculptor Rudi Lehman.
In 1961, Shemi settled in Israel and joined Kibbutz Carmia, where he was a member for twenty years. On the kibbutz, he worked in agriculture and also as sculptor, working in wood and clay.
In 1977, while living on the kibbutz, Shemi developed the idea of the "soft painting" medium. In his soft paintings, Shemi begins with a color drawing done to scale. He then layers irregulary-shaped pieces of variously textured and colored fabrics. Using a threadless, 9000-needle sewing machine, the fabrics are meshed to one another and To the background, resulting in vibrant compositions infused with exuberant color and explosive movement.
During the past few years, Shemi has worked intensively with laser-cut steel sculptures, his new field of expression.
Over the last fifteen years, Shemi has held more than seventy one-man shows in the USA, Japan, Germany, Spain, Belgium, and Israel. Shemi's works can be seen in the permanent collection of the Spertus Museum of Judaica; the Chicago Fashion Institutes, the King David Hotel, Jerusalem; One Denver Place, Denver; Citibank Corporate Offices; Digital Computers; Israel Weight Watchers Corporate Headquarters, and many more.
Calman Shemi has also created 1200 prints for cabins of the "Sensation", a Carnival Cruise liner, large-scale paintings for the liner's suites, and large-scale paintings for it's public places. In addition, Shemi also created paintings and sculptures for other Carnival Cruise Liners: the "Elation", the "Paradise", and the "Triumph", launched in 1997, 1998 and January 1999, respectively.
