Ivan Schwebel (1932-2011) was an American-born Israeli artist who blended modern and ancient Jewish imagery and American cultural icons in his art. Schwebel was taught by a Zen master-painter in Kyoto, Kimura Kyoen and Japanese influence can be seen in his landscape paintings and in his dramatic compositions. He studied art history and after finishing his bachelor of arts he went to the Institute of Fine Arts. Ivan Schwebel then traveled in Europe awhile before moving to Israel in 1963.

Ivan Schwebel's paintings are set in the urban environments of modern Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and New York. In Schwebel’s best work, the paint speaks for itself; the pools and explosions of rich color, achieved with pigment that he would grind and mix himself, the luminous figures emerging out of dark shadows, the quirky, dramatic compositions.

Schwebel was renowned for fusing images from different time periods in his paintings. Colorful and expressive, his pieces have been interpreted as commentaries on Israeli society and politics, and they have been exhibited in the Israel Museum and in museums and galleries throughout Israel and the US. Schwebel had major shows at the Israel Museum, Tefen, and at the Ramat Gan Museum; his work had been exhibited at the Tel Aviv Museum and is represented in their collection.