Shaul Shats has always regarded himself as a religious artist, even before his return to orthodox Judaism. "Religious painting," according to Shats, "is a much more common and natural phenomenon than we are aware of, and does not necessarily require the depiction of religious articles or scenes.”

Born on Kibbutz Sarid in 1944, Shaul Shats graduated from the Bezalel Academy of Arts in Jerusalem, later taught there, and also studied art in Amsterdam.

Jerusalem, to Shaul Shats, represents the geographical and spiritual heart of the world – it is the physical boundary which separates desert and cultivated land, barbarism and culture. His paintings are akin to drawings whose magical signs and internal motion are affected by nature's transcendental inspiration.

Shats' paintings of the Judean hills represent his world; his art is part of his philosophy. And the overlapping of his lifestyle, philosophy, and creative instincts contribute to his special impressionistic style.

Shats is deeply affected by the desert. Purple, the dominant color in his works, is, according to the artist, the color of the desert. Shats' purples, violets and magentas are typically complemented by yellow, green and orange. He blends the different planes with rhythmic brush strokes, using the same palette of colors throughout all areas of the canvas to turn the Judean bleakness into a colorful "fertile" landscape.

The tree in Shaul Shats' paintings serves as the central figure, or the subject that draws landscape and sky to it, to form a unified perfection. Depictions of his family, which appear in many of his canvases, provide a personal, human touch to his paintings.

His modus operandi entails photographing scenes from different places and recreating them, through observation and imagination, in his own impressionistic-expressionistic style.

Prizes

1992 – Jerusalem Prize

1992 – Ben Yitzhak Prize for Illustration of Israeli Children’s Books, Israel

1992 – Ish Shalom Prize for Jerusalem Artist

One-Man Exhibitions

1969 – Engel Gallery, Jerusalem

1971 – The Little Gallery, Jerusalem

1972 – Artists’ House, Jerusalem

1976 – Artists’ House, Jerusalem

1980 – Binet Gallery, Tel Aviv

1982 – Binet Gallery, Tel Aviv

1986 – Binet Gallery, Tel Aviv

1990 – Mayanot Gallery, Jerusalem

2004 – University of Haifa

Collections

Israel Museum, Jerusalem Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam Private Collections

Books

“From the Window” – Am Oved Publications

“Jerusalem” – Poalim Library Publications