Michal Heiman
Born 1954 in Israel, lives and works in Tel Aviv.
Michal Heiman (she/her/hers) based in Tel Aviv) is an interdisciplinary artist, (art)ivist, curator, and theoretician. She works across mediums: photography, performance, film, painting, writing, installation, video-art, always in relation to her extensive archival research and often in direct (and critical) relationship to diagnosis and psychoanalysis, and is an interdisciplinary member of the Tel-Aviv Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis. She is the founder of the Photographer Unknown archive (1984), the creator of the Michal Heiman Tests (M.H.T.s) 1–4, the first test and procedure was debuted in 1997 at Documenta X, Kassel (Curated by Catherine David) and the first winner of the Shpilman International Prize for Excellence in research in Photography in collaboration with the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, 2010. Her recent projects and exhibitions mainly focus on anonymous and marginalized women who were hospitalized in asylums in the 18th and 19th century. Her works have been shown at The Jewish Museum (New York), Documenta X (Kassel), Attacks on Linking, at The Tel-Aviv Museum of Art (Solo exhibition curated by Mordechai Omer), The Van Abbe Museum (Eindhoven, Holland, Curated by Galit Eilat, Christine Bernard, Diana Fransen), The Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria, Curators: Eva Birkenstock and Galit Eilat), Muzeum Śląskie, Katowice (Poland, curated by: Sebastian Cichocki), Museum Ludwig (Cologne, curated by Barbara Engelbach), Umm El-Fahim Art Gallery (Umm El-Fahim, Curated by: Ariella Aïsha Azoulay), Petach-Tikva Museum of Art, Petach-Tikva, Curated by: Hadas Maor, The Museum of Modern Art (Saitama City, Japan, Curated by Galia Bar Or and Eitaru Eirano), AP- Artist Proof (1885-2017), at The Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art (Solo exhibition curated by Aya Lurie), and Traversing Time and Space , Redbase Contemporary Art Space (Sydney, Australia, solo exhibition curated by Nancy Nan).
Since 2019, she has had three solo exhibitions in the US, Radical Link: A New Community of Women at the American University Museum at Katzen Art Center (Washington, D.C., curated by Sarah Gordon), Hearing at the American Jewish University (Los Angeles, curated by Rotem Rozental), and Michal Heiman: Chronically Linked at Binghamton University (New York, curated by Claire L Kovacs). And most recently, the Centre Pompidou added her installation, The Blind Triptych shown now at the Corps à corps exhibition (Centre Pompidou, Paris, Curated by Julie Jones). In 2015, she founded the organization, “Women in Academia”, to protect and advance women’s equality at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. In 2018, she founded the public-benefit corporation An Academy of Her Own, which advocates for gender equality in academic art institutions.
Heiman has taught at numerous universities and institutions, including Bezalel Academy of Art & Design and Tel Aviv University and her works are included in private and institutional collections worldwide.
Exhibitions at RawArt Gallery
Artist Websites
Education
1982-1984 Art Studies, Hamidrasha School of Art, Beit Berl
1978-1979 Photography Studies, Hadassa College, Jerusalem
Solo Exhibitions
2020 Hearing, The Institute for Jewish Creativity, Los Angeles, USA, curated by: Rotem Rozental
2019 Radical Link: A New Community of Women, 1855-2019, American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington, DC, USA, curated by: Sarah Gordon (Catalog)
2017 Genetics of a Painting, Basis Gallery, Herzliya, curated by: Shlomit Breur (Catalog)
2017 AP - Artist Proof 1885-2017, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, curated by: Aya Lurie
2008 Attacks on Linking, Helena Rubenstein Pavilion for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Mordechai Omer
2005 I was There, Andrea Meislin Gallery, New York
2003 Photo Rape, The Artists’ House, Tel Aviv, curated by: Galia Yahav
1995 Michal Heiman Test: First Diagnosis, Noga Gallery, Tel Aviv
1994 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T): Endopsychic Press, Ian Potter Gallery, The University of Melbourne Museum of Art, Melbourne, Australia, curated by: Merryn Gates (Catalog)
1991 Sorting: Undersigned, Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv
1990 Paintings, Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv
1990 Sorting, Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Ariella Azoulay (Catalog)
1986 Paintings, Meimad Gallery for Visual Art, Tel Aviv
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 The Butterfly Effect, Butterfly - Mouzakis Factory, Athens, curated by: Kostas Prapoglou
2023 Shmini Azeret, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Dalit Matatyahu
2023 Corps à corps'; Histoire(s) de la photographie, Centre Pompidou, Paris, curated by: Julie Jones
2021 In The Future I Shall Live a Great Deal in This Room, Studio of Her Own, Jerusalem, curated by: Or Tshuva
2021 Skein: new acquisitions for the Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Israeli Art Collection, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Dalit Matatyahu and Amit Shemma
2019 Raw Art, RawArt Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Maya Bamberger
2019 Impersonating Myself / Becoming Myself, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, curated by: Shoshan Brosh-Vaitz and Zhang Fang
2018 #metoo, Benjamin Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Sari Golan
2018 Holot Events, Marie Gallery, Jerusalem, curated by: Hadar Amit
2017 Repositioning: Old Objects, New Artworks, The Museum for Islamic Art, Jerusalem, curated by: Alon Razgour
2017 Off the Record: Works from the Nava and Ronnie Dissentshik Collection, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, curated by: Tamara Abramovitch
2017 Behold the Man: Jesus In Israeli Art, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, curated by: Amitai Mendelsohn
2017 Partial Portrait: Fragmented Identities, Jerusalem Artists’ House, Jerusalem, curated by: Smadar Sheffi
2017 2nd Chongqing International Photography & Video Biennale, Chongqing, China, curated by: Bissi Silva, Cui Cancan and Wang Qingsong
2017 298 111, Muzeum Śląskie, Katowice, Poland, curated by: Sebastian Cichocki
2017 Art School, Helena Rubenstein Pavillion for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, curated by: Avi Lubin
2015 Drive-In: Israeli Photography in the 80s, Ashdod Art Museum, Ashdod, curated by: Yuval Bitton
2015 Four Artists: Yuval Tebol, Bill Viola, Eden Efrat, Michal Heiaman, Sulfur Factory, Kibbutz Be’eri, curated by: Anat Botzer
2015 The Recipients: Ministry of Culture and Sport Awards in Art and Design, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, curated by: Tali Ben Nun
2014 Double Exposure, Shpiman Institute, Tel-Aviv, curated by: Aya Lurie, Anat Asher and Orit Boulgaro
2014 Projecting Art, Ilana Gur Museum, Jaffa, curated by: Sophia Dekel-Caspi
2014 Asylum (The Dress, 1852-2016), Permanent Exhibition, The Tel Aviv District Court, Tel Aviv
2014 Profile is Aggression, Too: From the Haaretz Collection, Minus1 Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Efrat Livni
2014 Strangers Among Us, Beth Hagefen, Haifa, curated by: Dor Guez
2013 Le Noir et Le Bleu: Un reve mediterranneen, MuCEM, Marseille, France, curated by: Thierry Fabre
2013 It Is Only a State of Mind, NGBK and HDVK, Berlin and Heidelberg, Germany, curated by: Michaela Richter, Susanne Weib and Sonja Hempel
2013 Lot’s Wife: The Photographic Gaze, The Open Museum of Photography, Tel-Hai Industrial Park, curated by: Naama Haikin
2013 Children’s Language, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya, curated by: Chen Sheinberg
2013 Execution, Minshar Art Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Galia Yahav
2013 Strange and Close: A selection of recent works from the collection of the Van Abbemuseum, Muse dart Contemporain de Bordeaux, France, curated by: Galit Eilat and Charles Esche
2012 Dress: Thoughts on Clothes, Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, curated by: Sophia Dekel-Caspi
2011 From Origin to Originality: Contemporary Israeli Art, ALMA - Home for Hebrew Culture, Tel Aviv, curated by: Tsibi Geva
2010 Shelf Life, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Tami Katz-freiman and Rotem Ruff
2010 New in Photography: Recent Acquisitions, Israel Museum of Art, Jerusalem, curated by: Hadas Maor
2009 Black-Market, For Practical Knowledge and Lack of Knowledge N.12, The Arab-Jewish Community, Jaffa, Tel Aviv
2009 Images Recalled-Bilder Auf Abruf, Wilhelm-Hack Museum, Ludwigshafen, Germany, curated by: Esther Ruelfs and Tobias Berger
2009 Conversion, Petach-Tikva Museum of Art, Petach-Tikva, curated by: Maayan Amir
2009 History of Violence, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Hadas Maor
2008-2007 Dateline Israel: New Photography and Video Art, The Jewish Museum, New York and Berlin, curated by: Susan Tumarkin-Goodman
2008 Check-Post: Art in Israel in the 1980s, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Ilana Tenenbaum
2008 Document, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland
2008 Insomniac Promenades: Sleeping/Dreaming in Contemporary Art, Passage de Retz and Petac-Tikva Museum, Paris and Petach-Tikva, curated by: Marie Shek
2008 Near and Apparent, Connections and Context: A Selection from the Benno Kalev Collection, The Open Museum, Tefen Industrial Park, curated by: Benno Kalev
2008 My Own Body, Art in Israel 1968-1978, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Mordechai Omer
2008 Intersections: Israeli Video Artists, Jerusalem Film Festival, Cinematheque, Jerusalem, curated by: Yael Bartana
2008 Depletion: Work from the Doron Sebbag Art Collection, ORS Ltd., Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Aya Lurie and Nili Goren
2008 What’s on Your Mind? “A Million One Hundred Thinking Women", Permanent Exhibition, Mexico building, The David and Yolanda Katz Faculty of the Arts, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv
2007 The Mirror and the Gaze, The Second Moscow Biennial of Contemporary Art, Moscow, curated by: Natalia Kamenetskaya
2007 Local Time 8, Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Boaz Arad
2007 Passing the Batonette: Four Decades of Feminism in Israeli Art, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Ilana Tenenbaum and Einat Amir
2007 1. Refusal Front; 2. Specters, Hamidrasha Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Michal Na'aman and Doron Rabina
2006 Mixed Emotions, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Tami Katz-Freiman
2006 Art of Living: Contemporary Photography and Video from the Israel Museum, The Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, USA, curated by: Nissan Perez
2005 Les Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie d'Arles, France, Director: Francois Hebel
2005 4th of November 1995: Murder in Retrospect, Bezalel Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Dr. Dana Arieli-Horowitz and Dr. Dalia Manor
2004 Everything Could Be Seen, Umm El-Fahim Art Gallery, Umm El-Fahim, curated by: Ariella Azoulay
2004 Terrorvision, Exit Art, New York, USA, curated by: Jeanette Ingberman
2004 Sun-Moon: Michal Heiman and Rashid Masharawi, Vtije Academie voor Beeldende Kunsten, The Hague, curated by: Ingrid Rollema
2003 Families of Man, Haifa University Art Gallery, Haifa, curated by: Ruti Direktor
2003 Recipients of the Minister of Education and Culture Prize in the Field of Visual Art and Design, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Daniella Talmor
2003 Art Against Stigma, Sommer Gallery in cooperation with Lundbeck Israel Ltd, Tel Aviv, curated by: Irit Sommer
2003 [After], Petach-Tikva Museum of Art, Petach-Tikva, curated by: Hadas Maor
2002 Concealed and Revealed, The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Mishkenot Sha'ananim, Jerusalem, curated by: Naftali Gliksberg
2002 Believe - a Day Will Come, Art For Co-Existence, the 35 Year, Umm El-Fahem Art Gallery and Plonit Gallery, Tel Aviv
1999 Ma'aseh Hoshev, Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem, curated by: Naftali Gliksberg
1998 To the East: Orientalism in the Arts in Israel, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, curated by: Yigal Zalmona and Tamar Manor-Friedman
1998 Social Realism in the 50s, Political Art in the 90s, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Ilana Tenenbaum and Gila Ballas
1998 Women Artists in Israel, 1948-1998, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Ilana Teicher
1998 Condition Repor: Photography in Israel Today, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, curated by: Nissan Perez
1997 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T) No. 1: Enactment, Documenta X, Kassel, Germany, curated by: Catherine David
1997 Redings 3, Beit Ha'am Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Galia Yahav
1997 The Human Bank, Herzliya Museum of Modern Art, Herzliya, curated by: Dalia Levin
1997 Jews in Arab Countries Today - Photographs, Beit Hatfutsot, Tel Aviv, curated by: Ruti Porter
1996-1998 Desert Cliché: Israel Now, Local Images, Bass Museum of Art and Grey Art Gallery & Study Center, Miami Beach, Florida and New York University, USA, curated by: Tami Katz-Freiman and Amy Cappellazzo
1996 The Shadow of the Eye, Haifa Museum of Art, Haifa, curated by: Ilana Tenenbaum
1996 The Minister of Education and Culture Prize for Artists in the Field of Visual Art - The First Decade, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Sorin Heller
1995 The Wandering Jew: Myth or Metaphor, The Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne, Australia, curated by: Helen Light
1994 90-70-90, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Rona Sela
1994 Tel Aviv: A Temporary Documentation, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Batia Donner
1994 Export Surplus, Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Ariella Azoulay
1993 Installation: Curatorial Discourse, Kalisher Gallery, curated by: Galit Eilat and Max Fridman
1993 Collection Plus, the Range of Realism: Contemporary Israeli Photography from the Collection of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and from Private Collections, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Rona Sela
1991 The Third Israeli Photography Biennial: Persistence of Memory, Museum of Art, Ein Harod, curated by: John Stathatos
1991 Israeli Art Now: An Extensive Presentation, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Ellen Ginton and Havatzelet Kolodro
1991 The South of the World, Galleria Civica d'Arte Contemporanea, Italy, curated by: Amnon Barzel
1990 Feminine Presence: Israeli Women Artists in the Seventies and the Eighties, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, curated by: Ellen Ginton
1989 Aperto '90, The Venice Biennale: The Israeli Proposal, Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan, curated by: Adam Baruch
1988 Fresh Paint: The Younger Generation in Israeli Art, Tel Aviv Museum of Art and The Israel Museum, curated by: Ellen Ginton and Yigal Zalmona
1988 The Second Israeli Photography Biennial: Art Chronicle, Museum of Art, Ein Harod, curated by: Adam Baruch
1987 Artist-Format, Format-Artist: Israeli Art in Big Format, Museum of Israeli Art, Ramat Gan, curated by: Meir Ahronson
1985 Four Artists, Ahad Ha'am Gallery, Tel Aviv, curated by: Deganit Berest
1984 Young Artists, The Artists’ House, Tel Aviv, curated by: Raffi Lavie
Grants & Awards
2023 Gradiva Award for Best Art for her exhibition Chronically Linked,
2015 Minister of Culture Prize for Artists in the Field of Visual Art,
2010 Shpilman International Prize for Excellence in Photography, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
2004 The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts Grant,
2004 Enrique Kavlin Photography Prize, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
2003 Encouragement Prize, Ministry of Education and Culture
1997 Minister of Education and Culture Prize for Artisit in the Field of Visual Art,
1997 The Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts Grant,
1996 Minister of Education and Culture Prize for Artisit in the Field of Visual Art,
Residencies & Fellowships
2020 Visiting Artist Residency, 18th Street Arts Center, Los Angeles
1994 Artist-in-Residence, The McGeorge Fellowship, University of Melbourne, Australia
Press
2019 Athena Naylor, In AU Museum exhibit, Israeli artist uses photography to span centuries while confronting questions of belonging, The DC Line, 10.12.19, (Eng)
2019 Lisa Traiger, Asylum inmates and asylum seekers in Israeli photographer’s AU exhibit, Washington Jewish Week, 11.11.19
2019 Anna Gawel & Kate Oczypok, ‘Radical Link’ Looks at Asylum as Both an Archaic Cage and ModernDay Escape, The Washington Diplomat, 3.12.19, (Eng)
Selected Publications by the Artist
2014 Roi Boshi, Michal Heiman: Winking and Attacks on Linking, Fotograf 13, no.24, Prague
2008 Dr. Michal Ben Naftali, I Am Not Here: On Michal Heiman's Radical Realism,
2004 Danielle Knafo, Creative and Clinical Transformations of Trauma: Private Pain in the Public Domain, Israel Journal of Psychoanalysis, 1 (4), pp. 533-555
1999 Dr. Ariella Azoulay, Critical Image: Michal Heiman, Le Qartier, Center of Contemporary Art, Quimper, pp. 33-34
Selected curatorial works
2015 Waiting - one year at Holot Detention Center, Israel, Noureldin Musa, Parasite Gallery, Tel Aviv
2006 Presence of Unknowing (or: What do you Know?), co-curated with EitanBuganim
2005 Why Don't You Say It?, experimental film project, The New Israeli Foundation for Cinema & TV, Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya
1995 Neither Here nor There, Gordon Gallery, Tel Aviv
1994 Michael Shaphir, solo show, part of Nidbach series, The Artists' House, Jerusalem
1992 Uri Stettner, solo show, Bograshov Gallery, Tel Aviv
1991-1993 Curator of the Camera Obscura Gallery, Tel Aviv
Filmography
Profile of A Woman Artist - Rachel Shavit Bentwich, 2015, video, color, sound, 50 min
Looking for Sarah, 2012, video, color, sound, 15 min
Reality and Playing No. 2, 2009, video, color, sound, 31 min
Reality and Playing, 2009, video, color, sound, 35 min
Through the Visual: A Tale of Art that Attacks Linking, 1917-2008, lecture, video, color, sound, 100 min
Con-ver-sation, 2008, video, color, sound, 2:40 min
Sleeping, Test No. 1, 2008, video, color, 5:45 min
Father not Uncle (Freud / Katharina), 2008, video, color, sound, 26 min
Daughtertype No. 2: Holding, or Savior-Attacker, 2007-08, video, color, sound, 9 min
Me and Freud (1925), 2006, 2 min
Attacks on Linking No. 1: The Rope, Screen Memory, L Link, 2006, video, color, sound, 3:50 min
Daughtertype No. 1: Michal is Crying, 2006, video, color, sound, 9:40 min
Attacks on Linking No. 4: Yom Kippur at High Noon, K Link (PTSD), 2006, video, black & white, sound, 7:30 min / Camera: Michal Heiman; Editing: Eitan Buganim
Attacks on Living No. 2: The Double, Case Study, B+B Link, 2003-06, video, color, sound, 7:10 min / Camera: Michal Heiman; Editing: Eitan Buganim
Attacks on Living No. 3: Proof Only, A Link, 2001-06, video, color, sound, 4:40 mi
Thirdly: Animation No. 1 (Photographer Unknown / Eti and Tammuz), 2008, photo-activation, 1:20 min. Loop
Thirdly: Animation No. 2 (Photographer Unknown / Rachel and Michal), 2008, photo-activation, 2:04 min. Loop
Thirdly: Animation No. 4 (Photographer Unknown / Michal and Subjects Unknown), 2008, photo-activation, 1:30 min. Loop
Michal Heiman Tests
2018 Michal Heiman Test No. 2: My mother-in-Law – Test for Women, Enactment, Museum Ludwig, Köln, Germany; Curated by Barbara Engelbach
2011 The Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T.) No. 4: Experimental Diagnostics of Affinitie, Enactment, Living Archive, The Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria; Curated by Eva Birkenstock and Galit Eilat
2010 The Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T.) No. 4: Experimental Diagnostics of Affinitie, Enactment, The Politics of Collecting-The Collecting of Politics, Van Abbemuseum, Holland; Curated by Galit Eilat, Christine Bernard, Diana Fransen
2006 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T) No.3, “Omanut Haaretz,” Reading Power Station, Tel Aviv; Curated by Tal Ben-Zvi (Catalogue)
2004 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T) No. 3: What’s on Your Mind? Enactment, The Israeli Fringe Theater Festival, Acre; Artistic Director: Ati Citron
2001 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T) No. 2: My Mother-in-Law – Test for Women, Enactment, “Israeli Art Today: Messages to the New Millennium,” The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama City, Japan; Curated by Galia Bar Or and Eitaru Eirano
2000 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T) No. 2: My Mother-in-Law – Test for Women, Enactment, “The Angel of History,” Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, Herzliya; Curated by Ariella Azoulay
1998 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T) No. 2 – My Mother-in-Law – Test for Women, Enactment, Le Quartier, Quimper, France; Curated by Dominique Abensour
1997 Michal Heiman Test (M.H.T) No. 1: Enactment, Documenta X, Kassel, Germany; Curated by Catherine David
Collections
Bank Hapoalim Collection, Israel
Brandes Family Collection, Israel
Come il faut collection, Israel
FIBI Bank Collection
Igal Ahouvi Art Collection, Israel
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Ministry of Culture, Israel
Museum of Art Ein Harod, Ein Harod
ORS Collection, Israel
Private Collections
Ruth and Baruch Rappaport Israeli Art Collection, Tel Aviv Museum of Art
Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv
The Ian Potter Museum of Art houses the University of Melbourne Art Collection, Melbourne, Australia
The Jewish Museum, New York, USA
The Jewish Museum of Australia, Melbourne, Australia
The Museum Ludwig, Köln, Germany
The Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Private collections