Shiran Zaray Mizrahi

Artist Statement

I paint figures in landscapes, using expressive brushwork, light, and color to explore themes of journey, belonging, and spiritual longing. My work is inspired by the relationship between people and the land, and by the idea that landscapes can hold memory, emotion, and a sense of something beyond the visible world.

Having lived and studied in South Africa, New York, and Israel, I am interested in questions of home, displacement, and connection. The figures in my paintings are often searching, resting, or moving through open spaces that reflect an inner as well as an outer journey.

Through my paintings, I hope to create quiet spaces for reflection where viewers can bring their own experiences and find a sense of connection to something greater than themselves.

Biography

Shiran Zaray-Mizrahi is a contemporary figurative painter and illustrator based in Beit Shemesh, Israel, working primarily in oil. Born in Be’er Sheva and raised in South Africa, she studied Illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York before returning to Israel. Her practice is shaped by her lived experience of Jewish observance, migration, and her connection to the landscape of the Judean foothills.

Her work explores themes of belonging, exile, and the meeting point between the human and the sacred, through figures situated in natural environments. Drawing on classical and modernist traditions, she uses expressive brushwork and luminous color to create paintings that are intimate and contemplative.

Her work has been exhibited at the Jerusalem Theater, Artists House in Beit Shemesh, and the Hall of Justice in Be’er Sheva, and is held in private collections in Israel and abroad. She is a recipient of the Keren Tarbut award, and will be exhibited in the upcoming Jerusalem Biennale.