b. 1939, Israel
Micha Ullman was born in Tel Aviv in 1939. He studied at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design from 1960 to 1964 and at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London in 1965. From 1970 to 1978, Ullman taught at the Bezalel Academy, but after the "students' revolt" led by professors and students, Ullman was dismissed. He began teaching at Haifa University and, from 1991, also served as a lecturer at the Academy of Art in Stuttgart, Germany.
One of Ullman's most notable works, which involved digging into the ground, is "Exchange of Earth," created in 1972. In this project, he dug pits with the help of local children at Kibbutz Metzer and the nearby Arab village of Meser, exchanging soil between the two locations. Throughout the 1970s, his work began to increasingly focus on human structures.
Ullman participated in the Venice Biennale in 1980 with his project titled "The Third Watch: Trenches, Earth and Concrete," showcased in the Israeli pavilion. For this project, he dug trenches in the floor and placed chair-like earthen structures within them. He also took part in the São Paulo Biennale in 1989.
Starting in 1982, Ullman began creating public sculptures. One of his most notable works is the Monument Library, which was created in 1995 and is located at Bebelplatz in Berlin. This sculpture serves as a memorial to the book burnings that took place on May 10, 1933. It is a closed hall situated underground, topped with a glass square. The walls inside are lined with shelves, creating an environment reminiscent of a library that could accommodate approximately 20,000 books, reflecting the number of books that were burned that night.
Throughout his career, Ullman received numerous art awards in both Israel and Germany, establishing himself as a well-known artist in both countries.