Meet the artists behind 'Yoffi shel Israel' postcard art

• Author: ALAN ROSENBAUM
• Published date: 07 October 2021
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

"It is a completely different landscape from Moscow. There, it is gray with snow for half of the year."

Peres is one of 36 artists whose postcards of Israel will be displayed at "Yoffi shel Israel" (the beauty of Israel) – an exhibit showcasing the works of 36 Soviet-born Israeli artists at the Jerusalem House of Quality (Skizza Gallery) in Jerusalem

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The exhibition, which will be open to the public from October 20 through November 15, is supported by Russian-Israeli businessman Roman Abramovich and is a joint venture of Yoffi and The Jerusalem Post.

In 2015, shortly after he made aliyah, Russian-born entrepreneur Arkady Mayofis founded Yoffi, which produces and markets Israeli gastronomic souvenirs. Yoffi sells these items in Israel and also promotes them as exquisite gifts from the Holy Land.

Yoffi expanded its product line and began to produce colorfully painted postcards of Israel. The company commissioned 36 artists who had made aliyah from the former Soviet Union to create postcards that combine ancient and modern scenes of the Land of Israel, including drawings of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Now, Yoffi is sharing the artwork with the public through an exhibition, which reflects the artists' perspectives on Israel and includes depictions of local personalities, historical monuments and breathtaking landscapes, alongside the wonders of hi-tech progress.

Peres, who has been drawing since age three – "I remember every picture that I have ever drawn" – was born in 1970 in Moscow. She graduated from the Art and Graphic Department at Moscow State Pedagogical University in 1995. Later, she studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. She worked as an art director at Leo Burnett, G2 Grey, and Immedia and made aliyah in 2017.

Today, she lives in Rishon Lezion with her 13-year-old son, Valentin Stefashin, and works as a teacher, artist and art director.

Peres recalls that shortly after she made aliyah, she searched for small, beautiful items to send to her relatives living outside Israel. She decided to create her own gifts and began to design postcards depicting the beauty of the Holy Land.

"When Arkady asked me to join his postcard project," she says, "I was very happy because that is exactly what I had started to do two years before."

In her postcards, Peres depicts the beauty and color of Israel. "For me, the...