Haim Steinbach – zerubbabel

Born in Rehovot, Israel in 1944, Haim Steinbach has lived in the United States since 1957. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, where he received a BFA from Pratt Institute in 1968, followed by an MFA from Yale University in Connecticut in 1973.

For more than four decades, Haim Steinbach has explored the psychological, aesthetic, cultural and ritualistic aspects of collecting and arranging already existing objects. His work engages the concept of “display” as a form that foregrounds objects, raising consciousness of the play of presentation. An important influence in the growth of post-modern artistic dialogue, Steinbach’s work has radically redefined the status of the object in art.

Throughout his career, Steinbach has exhibited his work consistently at major museums worldwide. In 2013, the Hessel Museum of Art at Bard College in New York presented an important solo exhibition of the artist’s work since the early 1970’s, entitled once again the world is flat, which traveled to Kunsthalle Zurich and Serpentine Gallery, London. Other notable solo presentations include The Menil Collection, Houston (2014); Statens Museum fur Kunst, Copenhagen (2013-14); Berkeley Art Museum, UC Berkeley (2005); Museum Moderner Kunst, Vienna (1997); CAPC musée d’art contemporain, Bordeaux (1988); Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, (1995); Kunsthalle Ritter in Austria (1994); Guggenheim Museum, New York (with Ettore Spalletti); and Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam (1992). In 1999, his work was presented at the Venice Biennale as part of the 47th International Art Exhibition curated by Germano Celant.