Aarele Ben Arieh height - How tall is Aarele Ben Arieh?

Ben Arieh creates outdoor sculptures that create points of contact between the public and the environment. He specializes in projects that invite physical interaction such as sculpture playgrounds, park shades and public seating. "His point of origin is anchored in the material, or rather in the point where the material and the concept meet. The what and how go hand in hand. His pieces consist of dozens of interconnected elements which join to form one flawlessly shaped whole..." (Izika Gaon, Curator of the Israel Museum, at the opening of “The Concept in the Material” exhibition, 1987). Ben Arieh calls himself “The Place Doctor."

In 1987, the Israel Museum held Ben Arieh's “Toy Sculptures” exhibition, displaying varied pieces from his Gaza stint. In 1997, the Israel Museum presented his "The Concept in the Material" exhibition for the second time. "Song of the Crank" at Gerstein Gallery in Tel Aviv presented a series of mechanical toy sculptures made of tin and wood.

In the early 1980s, Ben Arieh developed close ties with potters and carpenters in the Gaza Strip. He worked alongside them as an apprentice and considered them his guides and mentors in art. He drew inspiration from Palestinian material culture, the unique colorful paintings of pilgrims returning from Mecca and the vast expanses of sand dunes. He also studied under sculptor Moshe Shek (Jook) and painter Rafi Mintz.

Aharon (Aarele / Aarale) Ben Arieh was born in Haifa in 1955, and today his home and work base are in Moshav Tzafririm in the Ella Valley region. He grew up in Kiryat Gat. From an early age, he was drawn to sculpture and spent his free time in his father's workshop for farming equipment, training in metalwork. After completing his IDF military service in the Airborne Nahal battalion, he joined his friends at Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, where he set up a sculpture studio and a workshop for the development and improvement of agricultural machinery.