Noa Charuvi

The Israeli artist draws on memories of growing up in Jerusalem to create her compelling paintings

Artist standing in a studio surrounded by colorful abstract paintings, wearing a graphic t-shirt and paint-splattered jeans.
Noa Charuvi. Photo: Meredith Jenks

Construction sites and piles of rubble are reimagined as places of beauty in the striking oil paintings by Israeli artist Noa Charuvi. “I am interested in places of transformation, whether they are deconstructed or constructed, and the forceful human intervention in the space.”

Drawing on memories of growing up in Jerusalem, Charuvi uses her art to address conflict in her home country. “The landscape has so much history, and where I grew up it was always about war,” she says. “I use painting as a documenting tool to interpret the world around me.” Recently, she’s been creating works based on the areas being rebuilt around New York’s World Trade Center site.

Abstract painting of stacked geometric shapes with blue, gray, and orange accents against a light background.
Noa Charuvi, Assembly, (2015). Photo: Stan Narten, Courtesy of the artist
Abstract painting with bold colors, featuring lines, geometric shapes, and contrasting shades of orange, blue, and yellow.
Noa Charuvi, Big Pipe, 2015. Photo: Stan Narten, Courtesy of the artist

Hands-on Process: “I work a lot with a palette knife—I like its connection to construction, and I almost feel like I’m one of the workers.”

Unique Influence: As a child, she’d spend afternoons in her architect father’s office. That experience made her realize the power of architecture as a reflection of history, politics, and social hierarchy.

Abstract painting of pink and red shapes on a white surface with wooden and glass background.
Noa Charuvi, Cotton Candy, 2016. Photo: Stan Narten, Courtesy of the artist

Recent Showing: Her works have recently been exhibited at Galeria Azur in Berlin; All Art Works in Grand Rapids, Michigan; New Collectors Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side; and H Gallery’s new location in Paris’s third arrondissement

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2019 Late Fall Issue under the headline “Galerie Emerging Artist Award.” Subscribe to the magazine.