Zoe Sever

Radiant Visions of Israel

Zoe Sever (born 1974) creates radiant, joy-infused visions of Israel in which cityscapes, history, and everyday life unfold as luminous, dreamlike realms. Born in Lviv, Ukraine in 1974 and later settling in Israel, Sever brings to her practice a layered sense of place shaped by memory, migration, and belonging.

Zoe's paintings often read as visual love letters to the cities and landscapes she inhabits, infused with warmth, affection, and quiet wonder. Educated at the Lviv School of Arts and the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, she combines architectural discipline with compositions animated by color, pattern, and a gently lyrical, intuitive sensibility.

Across her canvases, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Jaffa, and the valleys and hills between them appear almost weightless beneath crystalline, kaleidoscopic skies. Urban skylines, historic streets, and ancient walls emerge not as monuments, but as living presences, softened by swirling atmospheres, reflective surfaces, and a rhythmic interplay of light and motion. Animals recur throughout her work, particularly donkeys and sheep, anchoring the scenes with a sense of humility and endurance. These quiet figures introduce a contemplative balance, suggesting both the fragility of human narratives and the timeless continuity of the land itself.

While deeply rooted in Israeli topography and cultural memory, Sever’s work feels open, contemporary, and universally inviting. Her paintings have been exhibited widely in Israel and internationally, and are held in private and institutional collections across Europe, North America, and beyond. A youthful vitality runs through her surfaces, expressed through shimmering brushwork, intricate ornamentation, and playful shifts of scale, yet this energy is tempered by a mature tenderness for everyday life. Each canvas feels simultaneously celebratory and reflective, capturing the present moment while illuminating it with the glow of remembrance.

Solo Exhibitions

2014 – Art Is Fun, Tiroche Gallery, Herzliya Pituach, Israel

2015 – Landscape of Happiness, Hechal HaTarbut, Petah Tikva, Israel; Local Journey, Machon HaMayim City Gallery, Givatayim, Israel; Art Is Fun, Permanent Exhibition, Oncology Unit for Adolescents and Young Adults, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel

2016 – On the Roofs of Tel Aviv, European Janusz Korczak Academy (EJKA), Munich, Germany

2017 – Shades of Israel, State Museum of Arts, Almaty, Kazakhstan; Zoe Sever: Art Is Fun, Permanent Exhibition, Ichilov Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

2018 – Corners of Tel Aviv, Blue Square Israel, Azrieli Center, Tel Aviv, Israel

2019 – The Color of a Place, International Convention Center (Binyenei HaUma), Jerusalem, Israel

2020 – In–Out, Jerusalem House of Quality, Jerusalem, Israel

2022 – From Israel to Ukraine with Love, Gina Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Land of Future Spring, Museum of the History of Religion, Lviv, Ukraine

2025 – Israel of Sapphire and Gold: A Tale of Two Cities, Sredets Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria; Israel of Sapphire and Gold: A Tale of Two Cities, Varna, Bulgaria; Israel of Sapphire and Gold: A Tale of Two Cities, Kyustendil, Bulgaria

Group Exhibitions (Selected)

2001 – Graduation Exhibition, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Mount Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel

2012 – Naive Art of Israel, Gina Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; The 5th International Naïf Art Festival, Galeria Szyb Wilson, Katowice, Poland; Salon d’Automne Israel, Tel Aviv, Israel; Le Salon d’Artistes Réinventé, Paris, France

2013 – Sweet Dreams: A Naive Reality, Gina Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel

2014 – Espace Urbain, Mémoire de l’Avenir, Paris, France

2015 – Zoe Sever: Art Is Fun, Permanent Exhibition, Oncology Unit for Adolescents and Young Adults, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel; Exhibition of Two Artists (Gil Gibli and Zoe Sever), Globes Newspaper, Rishon LeZion, Israel; Homage to Leonardo, Leonardo Plaza Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel; Greetings! O Lovely Land, Gina Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; My Beloved Land, Ephrat Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; Israelische Kunstgraphik, Theater Nestroyhof Hamakom, Vienna, Austria; End of Season, Givatayim Theater, Givatayim, Israel

2016 – Optimism of the Whole, Beit Zion America, Tel Aviv, Israel; Tower of Babel, Schema Projects Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, USA; Tower of Babel, Trebisonda Centro per l’Arte Contemporanea, Perugia, Italy; Fusion Festival, Hostka, Czech Republic; Secret Art, Bank Leumi, Tel Aviv, Israel; Nekudat Zhut, White City, Tel Aviv, Israel

2017 – Vanishing Lands, Capisani Hotel, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; Tower of Babel, Machon HaMayim City Gallery, Givatayim, Israel; ArtIpad, Bank HaBeinleumi, Tel Aviv, Israel; Nekudat Zhut, Patti and Ernest Worth Art Gallery, Ramat Gan, Israel; Compassion, Assistance and Rescue, Beit Zion America, Tel Aviv, Israel

2018 – The Land We Love, Gina Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; Parking Art, Habima Theatre and Tel Aviv Museum Parking Complex, Tel Aviv, Israel

2020 – Imagining the Real, Gina Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Empty Space, Givatayim Theater, Givatayim, Israel

2021 – Heat Days, Givatayim Theater, Givatayim, Israel; I Choose Berlin, Living Gallery, Berlin, Germany; Museum in Process, Givatayim Theater, Givatayim, Israel; Yoffi Shel Israel, Skizza Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel; Fresh Paint, Silvan Adams Velodrome, Tel Aviv, Israel

2022 – Approach to Life, Beit Zion America, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Land of Future Spring, Museum of the History of Religion, Lviv, Ukraine; Shows a Place, Machon HaMayim City Gallery, Givatayim, Israel

2023 – Art to Go, Amiad Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Fresh Paint, Jaffa Port, Tel Aviv, Israel

2024 – Double Meaning, The Fourth Wall Art Space, Berlin, Germany; Glory, Contemplor Gallery, Vienna, Austria; Home Is My Fortress, Machon HaMayim, Givatayim, Israel

2025 – My Home Is My Fortress, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Museums and Public Institutions

Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Oncology Unit for Adolescents and Young Adults, Tel Hashomer, Ramat Gan, Israel – Permanent exhibition, Zoe Sever: Art Is Fun (since 2016)

Ichilov Medical Center (Sourasky Medical Center), Tel Aviv, Israel – Permanent exhibition, Zoe Sever: Art Is Fun (since 2017)

State Museum of Arts, Almaty, Kazakhstan – Solo exhibition, Shades of Israel (2017); works exhibited and associated with the museum’s collection

Givatayim Theater, Givatayim, Israel – Public exhibitions including End of Season (2015) and The Empty Space (2020)

International Convention Center (Binyenei HaUma), Jerusalem, Israel – Solo exhibition, The Color of a Place (2019); works associated with semi-permanent public display

Other Public and Semi-Public Venues

European Janusz Korczak Academy (EJKA), Munich, Germany – Exhibition, On the Roofs of Tel Aviv (2016)

Jerusalem House of Quality, Jerusalem, Israel – Exhibition, In–Out (2020)

Habima Theatre and Tel Aviv Museum Parking Complex, Tel Aviv, Israel – Public art project, Parking Art (2018)

Beit Zion America, Tel Aviv, Israel – Group exhibitions including Optimism of the Whole and Compassion, Assistance and Rescue

Selected Press and Media Coverage

Major Israeli and International Press

The Jerusalem Post, Israel – Articles on Zoe Sever’s life and work, including coverage of Ukraine-born Israeli artists and the Vilnius mural If You Will It, It Is No Dream

ESRA Magazine, Israel – Feature article, Israel: It Is Such a Broad Canvas, exploring her aliyah and the evolution of her artistic language

Intellias Magazine, Ukraine – Profile on art transforming a children’s hospital shelter, highlighting Sever’s work and personal background

Open Gallery / Street Art Cities, International – Editorial and biographical coverage related to her Vilnius mural, distributed through international street-art platforms

Gallery and Art-World Publications

GINA Gallery of International Naïve Art, Tel Aviv – Curatorial essays and biographical texts accompanying exhibitions and artist representation

Kings Gallery, Jerusalem – Editorial features and artwork essays, including Herzl in Tel Aviv, with biographical and stylistic analysis

Tiroche Auction House, Israel – Auction catalog essay by curator Doron Polak examining Sever’s work and career

MutualArt, International – Artist profile summarizing exhibitions, institutional presence, and market activity

Broadcast and Online Interviews

Kol Israel (Israeli Public Radio) – Recorded radio interview discussing Zoe Sever's artistic practice and exhibitions