Ilana Shafir (21 March 1924 – 12 April 2014) was an Israeli mosaic artist, globally known for her unique style spontaneous mosaic, a technique in which the artistic work emerges without prior painting unlike the traditional mosaic work. [1] [2] [3] Since the 1960s, she fashioned “extraordinary works mixing figurative and abstract motifs” in her studio in Ashkelon. [4]
Ilana Shafir was born on 21 March 1924 in the city of Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, now the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. [3] Since her childhood, she showed interest in paintings. [5] During the World War II, her family managed to escape to a small town called Kula, where they found protection. [3] While in hiding, Shafir drew landscapes and portraits of the people around using old book covers for canvases which helped her to survive. [6]
After the war, Shafir continued her studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of Zagreb, Croatia. [5] In 1949, at the age of 25, she ultimately arrived to Ashkelon, the coastal town of Israel, where she settled for the rest of her life. [3] [7]
In the beginning, she experimented with different techniques but finally focused on mosaic art. [3] [5] [8] She created mosaic murals in public buildings in Israel. [9] She founded Ashkelon art centre which she directed from 1970 to 1985. From 1985 she produced numerous works for the Ashkelon mosaic garden. [9]
Her works were exhibited in Israel, Italy, and Japan, and won numerous international awards. [9] The society of American mosaic artists (SAMA) honoured her with lifetime achievement award. [6] In 2011 she was also honoured with the only solo exhibition organized during the biennale Ravenna Mosaico. [3] [4]
She was the member of International association of contemporary mosaicists. [9]
She died on 12 April 2014 in Ashkelon, Israel. [9]