Uri de Beer

Uri de Beer (born 1937) is a multi-disciplinary artist and architect known for his versatile works and co-creation of ecological art. with various communities.
He exhibited his works in Israel and abroad in galleries, museums and art centers, and his works are permanently displayed in art centers in Israel and around the world, adorning important art collections.
Biography
De Beer was born in Haifa, Israel, in 1937. He attended Leo Baeck Elementary School in Haifa and graduated from a vocational high school in 1955.
In 1956 he was drafted into the army and served as Commander in the Ordnance Corps until his discharge with the rank of Major. During his service in the reserves corps, de Beer participated in three wars in Israel: Suez Crisis, Yom Kippur War and the First Lebanon War.
Between the years 1960 and 1964 Uri studied architecture at the Academy "Academy Fur Bautechnik" in Munich, Germany. After he completed his studies as an engineer and received his Dipl.-Ing diploma, de Beer continued to the Kunst Academy in Düsseldorf, where he studied urban construction and art for four years from 1964 to 1968. One of his prominent teachers at the Academy was the renowned artist Joseph Heinrich Beuys.
Alongside his studies, he created works of art, oil paintings on canvas and aquarelle paintings, and participated in group exhibitions. In 1967 he opened an architecture firm in Düsseldorf, Germany. As part of his activities, he participated in architectural competitions and in 1968 he was awarded a prize in the international competition for the construction and establishment of the town of Pratcielka (near Bratislava, Czechoslovakia).
In 1972, de Beer returned with his family to Israel.
In 1974 he moved to Sde Boker College (Midrasha of Sde Boker) in the Negev and was one of the founders of the Midrasha and served as the city's technical director ("city engineer"). In 1986, he received the Ben-Gurion Award for his contribution to the planning and development of the Midrasha and Ben-Gurion Shack at Kibbutz Sde Boker.
Since 1990 de Beer lives with his family in Kfar Saba, Israel. In addition to his artistic activities, he also engages in a variety of ecological and social projects in which he expresses his art and thus contributes to the improvement of ecological and social values in Israel and abroad, furthermore raising awareness about these issues.
He directed the city beautification department in the municipality of Kfar Saba, the city where he lives. From 1990 to 2001, he was actively engaged in the development of the city appearance and the display of art in public spaces and public institutions
His work as a multidisciplinary artist
De Beer is a multi-modal artist who has shaped his artistic way and developed his own unique style. He creates oil paintings, ecological art, art installations and sculptures in bronze and concrete. His works are characterized by curved lines and designs similar to elements in the organic world within nature, as opposed to the mechanical and artificial worlds.
In terms of art, his works can be described as "Biomorphic abstractionalism".
De Beer combines in his work fractals that resemble biological, inter-dimensional outer space elements. As an artist, de Beer expresses his involvement in environmental, ecological and social issues. De Beer co-creates with communities and engages schoolchildren from various sectors, people with disabilities and special needs in his ecological art. His art integrates and blends with the city's landscapes and nature, using existing architectural elements and transforming them into environmental sculpture art. He discovered his great love for art in his teens, as he began studying art at the Rothschild House in Haifa. Since then, De Beer immersed himself in art all his life and has developed a unique artistic style while experimenting with various genres every now and then
Since the 2000s he started to set up and participate in exhibitions (locally and abroad) professionally. Over the years, de Beer has been exhibiting many ecological art installations, including ecological gardens in the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, the Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, the Arena Mall and overseas, among others at the central square in Prague, the floating installation on the lake in the San Giuliano Park in Venice, which is the largest ecological garden in Europe, a field of flowers project - "Carpet of Joy", made of plastic bottles in Goa, India.
Personal life
Uri de Beer lives with his wife Zahava in Kfar Saba. He has 4 children. He is a member of the Israel Association of Plastic Artists and dedicates all of his time to artistic creation and involvement in activities for society and the environment.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu