Oren Eliav

Oren Eliav (b. 1975, Israel) lives and works in Tel Aviv.

Eliav’s paintings are concerned with the mental and physical relationship between viewer and painting. Examining religious imagery and optical phenomena through painting, Eliav exposes the complex relationship between seeing and believing. By employing  various visual manipulations such as reflections, shifts in scale,  breaks in composition, mirror images, multiple perspectives, and so on, his works present themselves as a mirage-like territory where cultural knowledge and the physical act of seeing compete for a place in the viewer’s mind.  As such, they are able to encompass both illusion and disillusionment.

Solo exhibitions of his work have been organized by prominent galleries and museums such as BUILDING (2020, Milan), Israel Museum (2018, Jerusalem), Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery (2016, Paris), Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2011), Ashdod Museum of Art (2010), and Givon Gallery (2006, Tel Aviv).

Group shows Eliav has participated in include The Genia Schreiber University Art Gallery (2007, Tel Aviv), Hanina Center for Contemporary Art (2008, Tel Aviv), Museum of Bat Yam (2008), Bezalel M.F.A Graduate Show (2009, Tel Aviv),  Ein Harod Museum (2009)  Braverman Gallery (2009, 2015, 2016, Tel Aviv), Glasgow School of Art (2009), Haifa Museum of Art (2009, 2015),  Liverpool Biennial (2010), Leipzig International Art Programme (2014),  Fondazione Giorgio Cini (2015, Venice), Pratt Institute (2016, Brooklyn),  Petach Tikva Museum of Art (2016), the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2017), Bar- David Museum of Arts and Judaica (2019, Bar’am), and Haifa Museum of Art (2020).

Eliav is the recipient of America Israel Grant Award (2004), 2008 Ministry of Culture Award for Young Artist, the Encouragement Award by Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design (2008), Rappaport Prize for a Young Israeli Painter by the Tel Aviv Museum of Art (2010), Cité Internationale des Arts residency, (2013 Paris), Residency@Berlin, Schir – Art Concepts (2013, Berlin), Leipzig International Arts Program (2014), and 2017 Ministery of Culture and Sports Award.

His works belong in numerous public collections including Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Israel Museum, Tel Aviv Museum of Art Collection, C-Collection, Depardieu Collection, Tony Podesta Collection, Israeli Discount Bank Collection, ORS Collection, Art Partners Collection, Art Vantage Collection, Peggy Scott and David Teplitzky Collection, Serge Tiroche Collection, Dubi Shiloah Collection, Brandes Collection, Jaglom Family Collection, Hagit and Ofer Shapira Collection, Dubi Shiff Art Collection, Nili Lipman and Sara Szold Collection, Oli Alter Collection, Shemer Family Collection, as well as various private collections in Israel and abroad.

Eliav received his BFA (2005) and MFA (2009) from Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design Jerusalem.