Bidspirit auction | Natalia Zourabova

Natalia Zourabova - Landscape, 2022. Oil on canvas 26 x 36 cm Signed Natalia Zourabova (b. 1975) is one of the prominent and highly regarded painters active in Israel today, enjoying widespread recognition both locally and internationally. She studied painting and theater in Europe and immigrated to Israel in 2004. Upon her arrival, she joined Zoya Cherkassky, Anna Lukashevsky, Olga Kondina, and Asya Lukin; together, they founded the ”New Barbizon” group—an activist art collective that has left a significant mark on the Israeli art scene. Alongside her work with the group, Zorubova has developed a personal body of work over the years, characterized by a distinctive painterly style. Her paintings feature vibrant colors, complex compositions, and a wealth of detail, through which she seeks to capture human moments, emotional states, and social concepts. Themes of identity, society, and daily life often lie at the heart of her work. Her first solo exhibition was held in 2005 at the Janco-Dada Museum. Since then, she has presented numerous solo exhibitions in Israel and Moscow and participated in group exhibitions at major institutions, including the Israel Museum, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Mishkan Museum of Art, Ein Harod. In 2019, she won the Discount Prize, leading to a solo exhibition at the Herzliya Museum of Art that focused on the domestic sphere and the female experience through portraits of her daughter and her daughter's friends. In 2024, a major solo exhibition of Zorubova’s work opened at the Haifa Museum of Art, revisiting the theme of domestic space—this time focusing on her own apartment in Jaffa. In this exhibition, she expands the boundaries of realism through a bold, Fauvist color palette that imbues tranquil, everyday scenes with emotional intensity and an extraordinary painterly presence. The exhibition garnered critical acclaim and attracted large audiences. Throughout her career, Zorubova has received numerous awards and grants, including the Discount Prize, the Minister of Immigrant Absorption Prize, awards at the Fresh Paint Art Fair, and a residency at Artport. Her works are held in significant private and public collections in Israel.