Michal Chelbin (born 1974) is an Israeli photographer. [1] [2] Her work is held in the collections of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel; Metropolitan Museum, New York; LACMA; Getty Center, LA; and the Jewish Museum, New York. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Chelbin was born and raised in Israel. She started photography at the age of 14. After high school, she served as a photographer in the Israel Defense Force spokesman unit for two years. [8]
Chelbin studied photography at WIZO academy of design and education in Haifa from 1997 to 2001. [1] [9]
In 2005 she had a solo exhibition, The Chapels, at Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel. [10]
In 2007 Chelbin first exhibited her project Strangely Familiar at Blue Sky Gallery, Portland. [11] The project focused on performers from small towns in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, England, and Israel, [11] and in 2008 it received the Constantiner Award for Photography from Tel Aviv Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel-Aviv. [12] In the same year, Chelbin exhibited a solo exhibition under the same name at Tel Aviv Museum of Art. [12] This project was also published as the book Strangely Familiar. [13] [12] [14]
The Black Eye (2010) Chelbin continues Chelbin's interest in athletics as a photography subject. [15] [14] [16] In Sailboats and Swans (2012) she made portraits inside prison facilities in Russia and Ukraine. [17] With How to Dance The Waltz (2021) she focused on military boarding schools, matador training academies, and teenagers in Ukraine preparing for their proms. [18]
Chelbin has participated in group shows in The Getty Center, Los Angeles, [19] The Jewish Museum, New York, [7] and the National Portrait Gallery, London. [20]
She collaborated with fashion brand Dior Homme in 2016. [21] [9] She is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine, [22] The New Yorker, [23] GQ, [24] and the Financial Times. [25]
Chelbin cites Vermeer, Caravaggio, Velázquez, Diane Arbus, and August Sander as some of her biggest influences. [1]
Chelbin's work is held in the following permanent collections: