Michal Chelbin Explained

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]

Early life

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.^[4]

Career

Chelbin studied photography at WIZO academy of design and education in Haifa from 1997 to 2001.^[5]

In 2005 she had a solo exhibition, The Chapels, at Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Israel.^[6]

In 2007 Chelbin first exhibited her project Strangely Familiar at Blue Sky Gallery, Portland.^[7] The project focused on performers from small towns in Ukraine, Eastern Europe, England, and Israel, and in 2008 it received the Constantiner Award for Photography from Tel Aviv Museum of Contemporary Art, Tel-Aviv.^[8] In the same year, Chelbin exhibited a solo exhibition under the same name at Tel Aviv Museum of Art. This project was also published as the book Strangely Familiar.^{[9] [10]}

The Black Eye (2010) Chelbin continues Chelbin's interest in athletics as a photography subject.^[11] In Sailboats and Swans (2012) she made portraits inside prison facilities in Russia and Ukraine.^[12] With How to Dance The Waltz (2021) she focused on military boarding schools, matador training academies, and teenagers in Ukraine preparing for their proms.^[13]

Chelbin has participated in group shows in The Getty Center, Los Angeles,^[14] The Jewish Museum, New York, and the National Portrait Gallery, London.^[15]

She collaborated with fashion brand Dior Homme in 2016.^[16] She is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine,^[17] The New Yorker,^[18] GQ,^[19] and the Financial Times.^[20]

Chelbin cites Vermeer, Caravaggio, Velázquez, Diane Arbus, and August Sander as some of her biggest influences.

Publications

• Strangely Familiar: Acrobats, Athletes and other Traveling Troupes (Aperture, 2008)
• The Black Eye (Twin Palms, 2010)^[21]
• Sailboats and Swans (Twin Palms, 2012)
• How to Dance the Waltz (Damiani, 2021)^{[22] [23]}

Solo exhibitions

• 2005 The Chapels, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya
• 2008 Strangely Familiar, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
• 2013 Sailboats and Swans, Hellenic Center for Photography, Athens, Greece
• 2021 How to Dance the Waltz, ClampArt, New York City^[24]

Collections

Chelbin's work is held in the following permanent collections:

• Metropolitan Museum, New York^[25]
• LACMA, LA^[26]
• Portland Museum of Art^[27]
• San Francisco Moma^[28]
• The Kadist Art Foundation, Paris^[29]
• Getty Center, LA^[30]
• Jewish Museum, New York^[31]
• Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel

Awards

• 2002 America-Israel Cultural Foundation Scholarship
• 2003 Artist in Residence, Hammeau des Artistes, Paris
• 2007: Constantiner Award for Photography –Tel Aviv
• 2009: Shortlisted, Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, London^{[32] [33]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021-06-30. Prom week in Ukraine: Michal Chelbin's best photograph. 2021-09-17. the Guardian. en.
2. Web site: Michal Chelbin.
3. Web site: Photography \ Tel Aviv Museum of Art. 2021-09-18. www.tamuseum.org.il.
4. Web site: Artist Michal Chelbin Talks Her Latest Book 'How to Dance the Waltz'. 2021-09-17. W Magazine. en.
5. Michal Chelbin website https://www.michalchelbin.com/about/
6. Web site: Michal Chelbin. 2021-09-23. www.herzliyamuseum.co.il. en-US.
7. Web site: Michal Chelbin. 2021-09-23. Blue Sky Gallery. en-US.
8. News: Art Etc. / Strangely Familiar. en. Haaretz. 2021-09-23.
9. Web site: Strangely Familiar (signed edition). 2021-09-23. Aperture. en-US.
10. Web site: 2015-08-24. PhotoBiography: Michal Chelbin Internationalphotomag. 2021-09-23. en-GB.
11. Web site: Michal Chelbin - Artists - Meislin Projects. 2021-09-23. www.meislinprojects.com. en.
12. Web site: Publishers. Twin Palms. Sailboats and Swans. 2021-09-23. Twin Palms Publishers. en.
13. Web site: How to Dance the Waltz Michal Chelbin - 9788862087261. 2021-09-23. www.damianieditore.com.
14. Web site: Sasha, Russia (Getty Museum). 2021-09-23. The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles. en.
15. Web site: National Portrait Gallery - Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize. 2021-09-23. www.npg.org.uk.
16. Web site: Michal Chelbin. 2021-09-23. Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem. en.
17. News: Bruni. Frank. 2018-10-15. Alessandro Michele, Fashion's Modern Mastermind. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-09-17. 0362-4331.
18. Michal Chelbin. 2021-09-17. The New Yorker. en.
19. Web site: Michal Chelbin - Bio, latest news and articles. 2021-09-17. GQ. en.
20. Web site: Michal Chelbin contribution. 2021-09-17. www.ft.com.
21. Web site: Works - Michal Chelbin. 2021-09-17. M+B Photo. en.
22. Web site: 2020-12-12. Michal Chelbin - How to Dance the Walz. 2021-09-17. GUP Magazine. en-US.
23. Web site: 2021-06-06. 12 Art Books to Invest in Now. 2021-09-17. Vogue. en-US.
24. Web site: How to Dance the Waltz. 2021-09-26. ClampArt. en-US.
25. Web site: 2021-09-18. Alicia, Ukraine. www.metmuseum.org.
26. Web site: 2021-09-18. Michal Chelbin. collections.lacma.org.
27. Web site: Michal Chelbin. 2021-09-26. portlandartmuseum.us.
28. Web site: Michal Chelbin. 2021-09-26. ClampArt. en-US.
29. Web site: You are being redirected.... 2021-09-26. kadist.org.
30. Web site: 2021-09-18. Michal Chelbin (Israeli, born 1974) (Getty Museum). The J. Paul Getty in Los Angeles.
31. Web site: The Jewish Museum. 2021-09-17. thejewishmuseum.org.
32. News: 2009-09-15. Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait prize 2009. en-GB. The Guardian. 2021-09-17. 0261-3077.
33. News: 2021-09-18. The Big Picture: Shortlist. 16 September 2009. news.bbc.co.uk.