Bio
Shiran Zaray-Mizrahi is a contemporary painter and illustrator based in Beit Shemesh, Israel. Working primarily in oil on canvas, she creates emotive depictions of figures within luminous, textured landscapes that explore the relationship between humanity, nature, and spiritual presence. Her work is best known for its atmospheric and expressive approach to the figure in space, where light, movement, and material surface carry emotional and contemplative weight.
Classically trained and informed by both modernist and figurative traditions, her painting practice centers on the meeting point between the inner and outer world. Drawing from her childhood in South Africa, her Jewish heritage, and the landscape surrounding her home in Israel, her work weaves together themes of belonging, memory, and quiet longing. Figures often emerge from or dissolve into the land, suggesting moments of transition between exile and home, presence and memory, earth and spirit. Recent bodies of work, including A Peace of Land, extend this exploration of the human figure in landscape as a site of emotional and spiritual reflection.
Alongside her painting practice, she works as an illustrator. She is married and a mother of five, and is also involved in ongoing efforts to build and support an artist community in Beit Shemesh, where she lives and works, fostering connection and visibility for local creators while continuing to develop her studio practice.
Born in 1984 in Be’er Sheva, Israel
Lived in South Africa and New York
Resides and works in Beit Shemesh, Israel
EDUCATION
2010-2012: Graphic Design, Sela College, Israel
2002-2006: BFA in Illustration, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023, Here and Now, Municipality, Artists House & Beit Yad LaBanim (3 locations), Beit Shemesh, Israel
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026, Milieu, Jerusalem Biennale, Studio of Her Own, Jerusalem, curator: Meital Manor
2026, Local View , Artists House, Beit Shemesh, Israel, curator: Talia Pe’er
2025, You Can’t See it on Me , Artists House, Beit Shemesh, Israel, curator: Adina Viktoria
2025, Home, Hall of Justice, Be’er Sheva, Israel, curator: Dr. Orna Yair
2024, Starting at the Beginning, Artists House, Beit Shemesh, Israel, curator: Bat Ami Belsan
2024, October 7, Artists House, Beit Shemesh, Israel, curator: Bat Ami Belsan
2023, Collections: Forming Memories, Artists House, Beit Shemesh, Israel, curator: Bat Ami Belsan
2022, The Light of Art, Arts & Culture Center, Artists House & Municipality, Beit Shemesh, Israel, curator: Michal Rosner
2017, Festival of Arts & Creativity, Sha’ar Ha’ir Mall, Beit Shemesh, Israel, curator: Michal Rosner
2015, Opening Exhibition, Mayim Tehorim Mikveh, Beit Shemesh
2008, Olim Art Expo, Jerusalem Theater, Jerusalem, Israel
2006, Senior Show, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York
SELECTED ART FAIRS
2022, An Evening to Remember, Neve Yerushalayim College for Women, Jerusalem, Israel
AWARDS
2022, Special Merit, Northern Light Art Gallery
2008, Excelling Artist Prize, Misrad Haklita, Israel
SELECTED PRESS
Anna Abramzon, “Jewish Artists Won’t Be Silenced”, Times of Israel, February 2024
Chani Levine,“Summary Gallery: The Holocaust from an Artistic Perspective / גלריה מסכמת: השואה ממבט אומנותי”,www.bhol.co.il, 2023
Featured in AICF (America-Israel Cultural Foundation) Newsletter, December 2023
Moshe Lipshitz, “Creating Light / יוצרות לאור”in Kav 400, 400.org.il, 2022
Judaica in the Spotlight, Meet the Artist,judaicainthespotlight.com , 2022
The Jewish Art House, The Jewish Art Magazine (selected artists), 2022
PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS
2023: Team Member in Hackathon representing the formation of a Beit Shemesh Artists Community & Fair
2007-2008: Art Gallery Manager, Engel Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
2008: Engel Gallery Rep at Art Jerusalem Art Fair, Underground Prisoners Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
