Eshel Meir

Meir Eshel (; 26 December 1964 – 10 October 1993), known professionally as Absalon, was an Israeli-French sculptor.

Biography Meir Eshel, the eldest of four children of Adèle and Elie Eshel, was born in December 1964 in the city of Ashdod. At the age fourteen he began to study at the Technical School of the Air Force in Haifa. After his graduation in 1982 he served as an aircraft technician at the Hatzerim Israeli Air Force Base for three years.

From 1985 to 1987, Absalon lived in Sinai and later in the dunes south of Ashdod, where he built a wooden cabin and made his living making jewelry. In 1989 he received a one-year scholarship to study at the Institut des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques in Paris. In 1990 he was represented by the Galerie Chantal Crousel. In the same year he was introduced to the curator Yona Fischer by Christian Boltanski, who invited him to exhibit in Israel at the Artists Studios, Aika Brown Gallery, Jerusalem, it was the first time he returned to Israel since moving to Paris. In 1993 Absalon planned to live in the six cells he designed for six cities, as Absalon described in interview: "I would like to create my own setting and belong to nothing else. My living unit will be the six habitation units which I construct, and my homeland will be in-between them."

Education 1987– The École Nationale Supérieure d'Arts Paris-Cergy, Paris, France 1987– The École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-arts, Paris, France

Videos 1991– Proposals for Habitation (3:30min) 1992– Solutions (7:25 min) 1993– Noises (3:23 min) 1993– Battle (62:24 min) 1993– Mr. Leloup Life (31min) 1993– Assassinations (33 min)

Solo exhibitions 1989– Centre d'Art Contemporain d'Ivry (CREDAC), Ivry-sur-Seine, France (catalogue) 1990–"Proposals for Habitation (Scale 1:1)," Artists Studio, Aika Brown Gallery, Jerusalem (catalogue) 1990-Musée Sainte-Croix, Poitiers, France (catalogue) 1990–"Cells," Galerie Crousel-Robelin / Bama, Paris 1991– "Compartments," Kunstlerhaus, Stuttgart 1991– "Compartments" Kulturbehrde, Hamburg 1991– "Compartments," Galerie Crousel-Robelin / Bama, Paris 1992– Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (catalogue) 1992– Galerie Etienne Ficheroulle, Brussels 1992– "A Universe without Objects," FNAC, Hôtel des Arts, Paris 1992– Kaye Pesblum Gallery, Helsinki 1993– "Cells," Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (catalogue) 1993– "Battle," Galerie Crousel-Robelin / Bama and Jean-René Fleurieu, Paris 1993– Carmelitenkloster, Frankfurt 1993– Galerie Luis Campana, Cologne 1994– Galerie Crousel-Robelin / Bama, Paris 1994– "Cells," Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow 1994– De Appel, Amsterdam (catalogue) 1994– Carré d'Art, Musée d'Art Contemporain, Nîmes, France (catalogue) 1994– "Noises," Chisenhale Gallery, London 1994– "Disposition," Château d'Aulteribe, Sermentizon, France 1994– Attitudes Gallery, Geneva 1995– "Cells," Chisenhale Gallery, London 1995– "Cells," Kunstverein, Hamburg 1996– "Cells," Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin 1996– "Absalon: Complete Video Works," Oriel Gallery, Cardiff 1997– Galerie Chantal Crousel, Paris 1997– L’Institut d ‘Art et Techniques de Bretagne Occidentale (IATBO), Brest, France 1997– Kunsthalle Zurich 1999– "Cells, Models & Drawings," Goldie Paley Gallery at Moore College, Philadelphia (catalogue) 2005– Platform Garanti, Istanbul 2005– "The Intruders," off-site program, Pavillon de l’Arsenal, Musée de la Ville de Paris 2005– Les Visiteurs programme, Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lès-Avignon, France 2006– "Battle," Ballet Preljocaj, opening of the Pavillon Noir, Centre Choréographique National, Aix en-Provence 2007– "Marie-Ange Guilleminot présente Absalon," La Chappelle de Visitandines, Amiens 2008– Passerelle Centre d’Art, Brest, France 2010– KW Institute for Contemporary Art, Berlin (catalogue) 2012– Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam (catalogue) 2013– Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv (catalogue)

Selected group exhibitions 1988– Atelier du Parvis de Beaubourg, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris 1989 – "Pas à côté pas n'importe où (Not a side, not anywhere)," Villa Arson, Nice 1989 – "Carte blanche à Jean de Loisy (Free card for Jean de Loisy)," Centre d'Art Contemporain d'Ivry (CREDAC), Ivry-sur-Seine 1990 – "Resistance: Absalon, Art in Ruins, Véronique Joumard, Serge Kliaving," Musée Sainte-Croix, Poitiers (catalogue) 1990 "Lignes de mire 1 (Lines of Sight)," Fondation Cartier, Jouy-en-Josas, France 1990– "Le Cinq (the Five)," Tramway, Glasgow; curator: Jean de Loisy (catalogue) 1990 – "VII Ateliers Internationaux des Pays de Loire" Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain (FRAC); curator: Jean-François Taddei (catalogue; text: Hans-Ulrich Obrist) 1991 – "Collection of the CAPC Museum," Musée d’Art Contemporain (CAPC), Bordeaux 1991– "Movements 1 & 2," Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; curator: Jean-Pierre Bordaz (catalogue) 1992 – Documenta 9, Kassel; curator: Jan Hoet (catalogue) 1992– "New Acquisitions," Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Paris 1992– Third International Istanbul Biennale; curator: Vasif Kortun 1993 – "L’Image dans le tapis (The Image in the Carpet)," Arsenale, Venice Biennale; curator: Jean de Loisy (catalogue) 1993– "Hôtel Carlton Palace, Chambre 763," 207 boulevard Raspail, Paris; curator: Hans-Ulrich Obrist 1993– "Lieux de la vie moderne (Places of Modern Life)," Le Quartier 1993– Centre d’Art Contemporain, Quimper, France 1993– "Le milieu du monde (The Middle of the World)," Villa Saint 1994 – "Hors limites (Out of Bounds)," Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; curator: Jean de Loisy (catalogue) 1994– "Même si c’est la nuit (Even if it is Night)," Musée d’Art Contemporain (CAPC), Bordeaux; curator: Jean-Louis Froment 1994– "Le saut dans le vide (A Leap into the Void)," Artists House, Moscow (catalogue) 1994– "Beats," Collection de la Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Belém Cultural Centre, Lisbon 1994– "Un papillon sur la roue (A Butterfly on a Wheel)," Espace d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Toulouse 1995 – "Rudiments d’un musée possible 2 (Rudiments for a Possible Museum 2)," Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (MAMCO), Geneva 1995 – "Currents ‘95: Familiar Places," Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston 1995– "Artistes/Architectes (Artists/ Architects)," Le Nouveau Musée, Villeurbanne, France 1995 – "Architecture(s)," Musée d’art contemporain (CAPC), Bordeaux 1995– "Insomnie (Insomnia)," Centre d’Art Contemporain, Domaine de Kerguehennec, Bretagne 1996– "Decadent Future: Art and Architecture," Centre for Visual Arts, Cardiff 1996– "Vision and Reality," Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark 1996– "House, Body, Identity: Construction of Identities," Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig (MUMOK), Vienna; National Gallery, Prague 1997- "Parisien(ne)s", Camden Arts Center / Institute of International Visual Arts (inIVA), London 2004– "Contrepoint (Counterpoint)," Louvre Museum, Paris 2004– "Living Inside the Grid," New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York 2005 – "Yona in Bezalel," Bezalel Gallery, Tel Aviv; curators: Sarit Shapira, Sandra Weil (catalogue) 2006 – "Au delà des images (Beyond Images)," Galerie Sfeir-Semler, Beirut 2006– "Sip my Ocean," Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark 2006- "Laboratoire pour un avenir incertain" curated by Hou Hanru, La Force de l'Art, Grand Palais, Paris 2007– "The Unhomely," 2nd International Biennial of Contemporary Art, Seville 2007-- "Volksgarten: Politics of Belonging," Kunsthaus Graz, Austria 2009 – "Die Kunst Ist Super! (Art Is Super!)," Hamburger Bahnhof Museum, Berlin 2017- "Art making city", "Growing in Difference", the 7th Shenzhen Hong Kong Bi-City Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, curated by Hou Hanru, Shenzhen, China 2021- "ABSALON ABSALON" CAPC musée d'art contemporain de Bordeaux, France

Collections Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (ARC) Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP), Paris Fond Régional d’Art Contemporain (FRAC) Languedoc-Roussillon, Montpellier Fond Régional d’Art Contemporain (FRAC) Aquitaine, Bordeaux Musée d’Art Contemporain (CAPC), Bordeaux Musée d’Art Contemporain (MAC), Marseilles Musée d’Art Moderne de Saint-étienne Carré d’Art, Nîmes, France Centre Régional d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France La Collection de la Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, Paris Tate Gallery, London Friedrich Christian Flick Collection at Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebaek, Denmark Magasin 3 Stockholm Konsthall Malmö Konsthall, Sweden Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston The Israel Museum, Jerusalem Tel Aviv Museum of Art