REFAEL SALEM

“I paint to hold the fragile moment where memory, place, and silence touch.”

— R.S.
Two contemporary viewers facing a large classical scene of figures in a wooded landscape.

Recent Works

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Close portrait of a young man resting on his side against a pale blue background.
Maxim2026
Close view of a reclining nude torso and bent legs.
Untitled2024
Standing figure in dark clothing shielding the face in a geometric interior.
Gabriel2025
Figure seen from behind facing a crowded woodland scene of nude figures.
Untitled2025
Nude figure lying on a gray floor crossed by window light.
Vincent2024
Close portrait of a curly-haired figure resting their head on folded arms against a muted green background.
Vasco #22026
Figure seen from behind facing an embracing winged couple.
Timothy and the abduction of psyche2025
Wide installation view of Longing for Touch at Hamazrek Gallery, with paintings displayed along both gallery walls.

Current / Recent Exhibition

Venue
Hamazrek Gallery, Tel Aviv
Dates
13–29 November 2025
Curator
Yonatan Ullman

Longing for Touch brings together paintings that approach beauty, desire and the idealized worlds held just beyond reach. Moving between intimate figures and encounters with classical art, the exhibition considers the distance between looking, longing and the possibility of contact.

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Refael Salem seated in his studio, surrounded by paintings and artists’ materials.

About the Artist

Refael Salem

Refael Salem is an Israeli painter working in the Tel Aviv area. Through portraiture, imagined landscapes and encounters with art history, his work explores beauty, identity, vulnerability and the quiet transformations that occur through looking.

Biography Artist Statement CV
Close portrait of a young man resting on his side against a pale blue background.
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