Zoe Sever was born in 1974 in Lviv, Ukraine. She began painting at the age of ten and went on to study at the Lviv School of Arts before immigrating to Israel at sixteen. In 1996, she was accepted into the architecture faculty at the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, where she earned her degree in 2001. Today, Sever is regarded as one of Israel’s most important contemporary artists. Her work joyfully blends naïvism and modernism, using a shimmering palette to depict Israel’s iconic urban sites, Tel Aviv’s skyline, Jerusalem’s Old City, Acre’s fortress seawall as well as its breathtaking landscapes, from the Hula Valley to the Galilee. She often reimagines historic figures such as Herzl and Ben-Gurion in whimsical, anachronistic scenes, balancing playfulness with depth. Her whirling skies, alive with motion, suggest both the turbulence of a country in conflict and the fleeting nature of life, while the calm donkeys and sheep that populate her paintings symbolize continuity, permanence, and the enduring spirit of the land.
