Breitberg-Samel, Sara

Sarah Breitberg-Semel is an Israeli art critic and critic who, during her time at the Tel Aviv Museum of Fine Arts in the 80s of the 20th century, formed the theoretical basis of the “poverty of material” style in Israeli fine art. After leaving the museum, for many years (until 2004) she edited the art magazine Studio.

Breitberg-Samel, Sara
Heb. שרה ברייטברג-סמל
Date of Birth
Citizenship	Israel
Occupation	art critic
Awards and prizes	Prize of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Israel

Breitberg-Semel was a curator of Israeli art at the Tel Aviv Museum from 1977-1989. In the course of her work, she oversaw numerous exhibitions by Israeli artists, such as Rafi Lavi and others. Among the well-known group exhibitions that she oversaw at the Tel Aviv Museum are “Artist - Society - Artist” (1979) and “Other Trends” (1981). Breitberg-Semel's most significant work was the exhibition “Poverty of Material as Quality in Israeli Art” (1986). In the theses of the research accompanying the exhibition, Breitberg-Semel expressed her desire to separate the local art style from the international art style of that time, describing Israeli artists and their relation to the European artistic tradition in a socio - aesthetic aspect. In the works of various artists presented at the exhibition, Breitberg-Semel discovered the use of "scarce materials", such as plywood , cardboard , collage and the like, as a way of expressing political criticism of Israeli society and culture, as well as an unaesthetic perception of Jewish tradition .

In 1988, she published the article Agrippas v Nimrod in the newspaper Yediot Ahronot .

In 2005, Sarah Breitberg-Semel became a laureate of the Israeli Ministry of Education and Culture .