Mirlis exhibited his first works at the Montclair Art Museum in 1979. A year later, he had his first solo exhibition at the New York Art Gallery.

Mirlis received international recognition after his participation in many exhibitions in Europe. The works he exhibited in Europe reflected influences from German neo-expressionism and Italian trans-avant-garde.

In 1986 he went to New York, where he exhibited for the first time at the prestigious Leo Casteli Gallery.
A tireless traveler, in 1987 Mirlis went to Brazil, and to the Amazon rainforest, where he stayed until July that year. There he opened one of his workshops, as well as in New Jersey, Rome, Paris and New York.

The light and shadows of the South American continent influenced the works of Mirlis, who in 1991 brought to New Jersey an exhibition of 18 pieces with his impressions of the Amazonian rainforest.

The work of Eliyahu Mirlis reflects, from the outset, a notable interest in motifs from nature, both land and sea, treated from a dense, thick palette, which has exerted great influence among his younger colleagues. Painting for the New Jersey artist is, in addition to a necessity, transformation and magic.