Larisa Miller"Simple Things | Painting, Poetry"Artist wall in Michael Sela Auditorium
Larisa Miller generously offers, through her poems and paintings, a rare opportunity to encounter the world and life just as they appear right now, through the eyes of a young Tel Aviv-based artist, situated at the heart of the “art scene,” and alongside its points of friction with what might be called “real work.”
Miller emigrated with her family from Belarus at the age of five. In Israel, they settled in the city of Nazareth Illit (now Nof Hagalil), where she studied at the Yigal Allon High School’s art track. She regards Nof Hagalil as an anchor of her childhood and adolescence, but upon reaching adulthood, she chose to take the risk and relocate from the “periphery” to the Tel Aviv metropolis, where she now lives, studies, works, and contributes to the spirit of the time and place through her painting and poetry.
Although she has lived in Israel since early childhood, a certain sense of estrangement seems to accompany her like a passing shadow, as reflected in this untitled poem:
There’s a wound in my tongue
it hurts when I
speak
There’s a wound in my
Russian tongue
After moving to Tel Aviv, she studied art and education at the Kalisher Art School, at the Institute for Democratic Education at Kibbutzim College of Education, and in the public art-education initiative Schmezalel School of Art. Founded and led by the artist Natalia Zourabova, this project invites participants to paint from observation, a principle deeply ingrained in the history of painting and considered by many an essential step en route to other modes of expression. Within this framework, participants, Miller among them, painted models posed in reference to figures from well known artworks, set against the backdrop of the city. These works were exhibited in public spaces. Echoes from this period resonate in Miller’s paintings in the current exhibition, which presents her observations and insights into what unfolds within her studio, as well as the landscape visible from its windows.
From 2018 to 2024, Miller managed the alternative cultural space The Left Bank, where she curated “Poetry on the Left Bank” evenings, exhibitions, and cultural events. She currently edits the poetry section of the weekly Zo HaDerech’s culture supplement, where she also reviews poetry books.
Alongside her artistic practice, Miller also works in a kindergarten.
Her poems have been published in numerous literary journals, including Mozna’im, Helicon, Granta in Hebrew, Iton 77, as well as in the culture and literature section of Haaretz,(edited by Benny Ziffer), Maariv, and Ynet. Her poems in English translation have appeared in the American literary magazine Waxwing.
To date, Miller has published three poetry collections:
The Land of Gold, Maayan Publishing, edited by Roy “Chicky” Arad;
Mashed Potatoes, Gnat Micropress, edited by Daniel Oz;
and The National Bride, Gnat Micropress, edited by Daniel Oz.
Her paintings have been exhibited widely in Israel and abroad, including at the Conference of Soviet Painters in Prague; at the Negev Museum of Art, the Fresh Paint Fair in Tel Aviv, and several galleries in Tel Aviv, including the Binyamin, Nulubaz, and Bread and Roses galleries.
