"The Dancer" by Itzik Ben Shalom

Itzik Benshalom, the man and the artist, is larger than life, an artistic Israeli with a remarkably gentle disposition. Born in Hadera, Israel, in 1945, Benshalom has had no formal art training, but has worked closely with many artists since 1967 when he set up a foundry specializing in the 4000 year old 'Lost Wax' method of casting sculpture. Ben Shalom's sculpture refers to human emotion. Created in pairs, male and female, the sculptures are often moveable pieces. The juxtaposition expresses the essence of Ben Shalom's statement and his concern with human interaction. He says of his work, "The 20th-century artist has to work primarily within the psyche of alienation. The overlay of modern existence which seems to be communicated more by electronic media than anything else, denies basic human emotions love, anger, understanding, all are reduced to cipher. I see my work as an attempt to remind people of a more primal form of humanism. In a sense, I see a need to redefine emotion". Benshalom was recently selected from among 2000 sculptors and artists, to create a five meter sculpture, Lovers, for the lobby of the new Industry House of Israel in Tel Aviv. Another of his monumental works will provide the centre point of the plaza at the University Business Park in Austin, Texas. His works are to be found in museums and public places as well as corporate and private collections throughout Europe, Israel and North America. Benshalom and his wife Hannas, also an artist in lacework, as well as a designer of fine jewelry, live with their three children in Hadera, Israel.