Belu-Simion Fainaru

Belu-Simion Fainaru was born in 1959 in Bucharest

Fainaru was born in Bucharest, Romania, on November 6, 1959. He moved to Israel in 1973.

He studied at the University of Haifa and earned an MA in art from the University of Chicago in 1984. He also studied at the Domus Academy in Milan and at the Royal Academy in Brussels.

In the 1980s his work drew on Jewish culture to raise questions of identity and historical memory. Many of his works deal with detachment, social issues and people on the margins of Israeli society. In the installation "The Homeless" from 1999, he built a temporary living space for homeless people inside an exhibition hall.

He also works as a curator. He co-founded the Pyramid organization in Haifa in 1993 and helped start the Mediterranean Biennale in 2010. He is a professor of architecture at the University of Haifa's School of Design.

He was chosen to represent Israel at the Venice Biennale opening in May 2026. His partner is the artist Avital Bar-Shay. He lives and works in Haifa and Antwerp.