Printmaker, photomontagist and painter Mati Basis was born into a Jewish family in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine (now Israel) on 15 December 1932. He studied at the Avni Institute of Art in Tel Aviv (1956–58) and after immigrating to England in 1966 completed his studies at Hornsey School of Art and Chelsea Art College (1966–69) in London. He lived and worked in London for the rest of his career. He became a recognised printmaker, known especially for his photo-montage etchings, often addressing motifs from nature and the environment, and he also printed many editions of etchings for well-known and established artists including Henry Moore and Arthur Boyd. He had his first solo show of paintings in 1960 at the Tschemerinsky Art Gallery in Tel Aviv (and continued to paint from 1966 until his death) and his first show of prints at the Oxford Gallery in 1976. He first exhibited in a group show in London at Annely Juda's gallery in 1969. He held a two-person show, Mati Basis (etchings) and Dalia Amotz-Weislib (photographs), at Ben Uri Gallery in London in 1977, with subsequent solo shows at the Margaret Fisher Gallery in 1978, as well as at the National Theatre in 1982. Barry Fealdman observed of his photo-etchings displayed at the latter that the artist 'reveal[ed] a magic touch that expresses the beauty inherent in nature. He renders the most tender and delicate effects in his images of trees and fields, in which intriguing gradations of nature are seen' (Barry Fealdman, Jewish Chronicle, 17 December 1982, p. 13). Basis was awarded the first prize for prints at the Tel Aviv Museum.
Mati Basis died on 14 June 2024 in London, England. In the UK his work is held in the Ben Uri Collection. His works are also held in international public collections in the USA (MoMA, New York), Israel (Israel Museum, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv Museum of Art) and the Netherlands (Utrecht Museum).
