Mikka Chesno

Mikka Chesno (b. 1998, Zimbabwe) is a figurative painter whose practice is shaped by a cross-continental upbringing in Cape Town and Jerusalem, completing her B.F.A. at Bezalel and an exchange program at HGB, Leipzig. Her work moves between expressive narrative painting and psychologically charged imagery. Colourful, seemingly playful scenes lure the viewer into themes of desire, sexuality, power, and vulnerability. Chesno has exhibited internationally in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, New York, Venice, Berlin, Leipzig and Cape Town and has participated in artist residencies, most recently in India. She is the recipient of the Printmaking Shtrok Prize at Bezalel and First Prize in the White Rose Holocaust Competition at the Cape Town Holocaust and Genocide Centre. She initiated art workshops for displaced families in Israel during the war and assisted autistic children in animation classes at Jerusalem Arts high school. Upcoming presentations include IMA Foundation, London and Fresh Paint 2026