A Life Shaped by the Kibbutz and the Field

Uri Lifschitz arrived in the world at Kibbutz Givat HaShlosha in 1936. His early years were rooted in the soil of Mandatory Palestine, a life that later included service as a paratrooper in Unit 101 under Ariel Sharon. He saw the realities of the 1956 Sinai War firsthand, an experience that lived alongside his growing interest in the visual arts. By the 1950s, he had begun to pick up a brush, studying at the Kibbutzim Seminary and later learning painting from Marcel Janko and Haim Kave.

His hands were as much accustomed to the weight of sculpture as they were to the delicate nature of etching or collage. Under Dov Fagin, he explored the physical presence of form. This period of his life was marked by a transition from the disciplined structure of military service to the restless energy of the studio. He moved through the art circles of Tel Aviv, becoming part of the bohemian layers of the city, often found in the familiar corners of Café Kassit.

The Shift Toward Figuration

In the beginning, his work leaned toward lyrical abstraction, a style influenced by Yossef Zaritsky. The compositions were light, yet they carried an underlying tension. As the 1960s arrived, something changed in his approach. He moved away from pure abstraction and toward a more figurative direction. This shift brought with it a heavier, more direct way of looking at the human form and social issues.

He became a central figure in the "Ten Plus" group, an ensemble that sought to offer something different from the established New Horizons movement. His paintings began to feature twisted figures drawn with thick black contours, set against abstract backgrounds. There was a certain irony in his work, particularly in pieces like In the Field (1969) or the drawings I am a chair and I don't know. He used these images to react to the world around him. Later, travels to Spain introduced the influence of Goya and Velasquez, leading to works like After Velasquez (1971) where classical portraiture met his own semi-abstract surroundings.

Recognition and Legacy

The years of his career were marked by several specific honors that reflected his standing in the Israeli art scene. He received the Eugen Kolb Prize from the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in 1965 and the Erasmus Prize in 1966. His later years saw him awarded the Dizengoff Prize in 1985. These recognitions followed a long list of exhibitions that took his work from local galleries like Ekked to international stages such as the São Paulo Biennale in 1969 and the Whitechapel Gallery in London.

His work remains held in several permanent collections, including:

• Tel Aviv Museum of Art
• Israel Museum
• Haifa Museum of Art
• Mishkan Museum of Art
• Ein Harod Museum of Art
• Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art

When he passed away in Tel Aviv in 2011, he left behind a body of work that spanned six decades. It was a collection built on bold brushstrokes and a refusal to stay within the boundaries of a single style, moving from the lyrical to the postmodern with a steady, observant hand.