Born in 1953 in Kfar Yehezkel, Asaf Ben Zvi was involved in ornithology until the early 1990s. In 1981, he enrolled in the Art department at Israel’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. During his studies, he participated in a student exchange program at the Pratt Institute in New York. From the outset, Ben Zvi’s focus has been on nature and the environment. Ecological and human disasters and natural disasters initially played an main role in his work and received expression through various fields of color, with motifs such as a cross, a water flask, a wasp, butterfly or bird, symbolizing the fragile human existence steeped in an eternal struggle.

In his later work, words penetrate the space of his paintings and art, reflecting on the private, public, local and universal realms. "Ben Zvi at his best is a visual poet, one who places words with great sensitivity to their tone and sometimes relinquishes the splendor of an image in favor of text and message."