Menashe Kadishman

Cracked Earth A is one of a series of works Menashe Kadishman made using an image of the Hula Valley, northern Israel. The Hula Valley was originally a lake surrounded with marshland, but was drained in the 1950s in an effort to destroy the breeding-grounds of malaria carrying mosquitoes. Whilst it was successful in this endeavour, it severely damaged the ecosystem. In 1963 a part of the Valley was re-flooded, and Israel’s first nature reserve established. For this piece, Kadishman screenprinted an image of the dry earth, covered with yellow scribbles.

• Artist Menashe Kadishman
• Artwork Cracked Earth A
• Date of work 1973–4
• Credit Original: Screenprint on paper 79.1 x 61 cm Tate. Presented by Rose and Chris Prater 1979 © Menashe Kadishman, courtesy www.kadishman.com

Menashe Kadishman (1932 – 2015) was an Israeli artist, working in sculpture and paint. Born in Mandate Palestine, Kadishman studied first with the Israeli sculptor Moshe Sternschuss at the Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv, and then in Jerusalem with the Israeli sculptor Rudi Lehmann. Alongside these studies, he worked as a shepherd to support his family, his father having died when Kadishman was 15. In 1959, he moved to London, where he studied art at both Saint Martin's School of Art and the Slade School of Art, and with Anthony Caro and Reg Butler. His work won 11 awards from 1960–2002, and his sculptures, paintings and public installation works are held in collections all over the world. Several pieces form part of Tate’s collection.

• Product Code S22179