Calman Shemi is an Argentinian-born Israeli artist best known for his Soft paintings. These works are wall hangings composed of textiles organized like a collage. Shemi sews individual pieces together into tapestries, producing colorful arrangements reminiscent of Henri Matisse’s cutouts. “Inspiration comes from my children, my grandchildren, my wife, the people on the street, the trees, the sky, films I’ve seen and books that I have read,” he explained. “The muse consists of millions of diverse influences that give birth to a new technique.” Born in 1939 in Argentina, he studied under Libero Badii and Rudi Lehmann at the School of Sculpture and Ceramics in Mendoza, and in 1961, he moved to the Kibbutz Carmia in Israel. Shemi’s works are in the collections of the Spertus Museum of Judaica in Chicago and the Chicago Fashion Institute. He continues to live and work in Israel.
