Benni Efrat

Benni Efrat (Arabic: بني إفرات; born 1936) is an Israeli painter, sculptor, printmaker and filmmaker who was born in Beirut, Lebanon.

Benni Efrat بني إفرات
Benni Efrat
Born	1936 (age 88–89) Beirut, Lebanon
Nationality	Israeli
Education	Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv, Saint Martin's School of Art, London
Known for	Conceptual art
Movement	Israeli art

Biography

Benni Efrat immigrated to Palestine in 1947. From 1959 to 1961, he studied at the Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv under Yehezkel Streichman (1906–1993). From 1966 to 1976, he lived in London, where he studied at Saint Martin's School of Art in London.

Art career

Benni Efrat was one of the pioneers of Israeli Conceptual artists and influenced others in this direction (e.g., Joshua Neustein, Michael Gitlin, Buky Schwartz). His works were systems of components which spoke for themselves and sought to represent no more than the sum of their parts. In the mid-1970s his displays were accompanied by films, on the back of which the artist had painted. After settling in New York City in 1976, became involved with conceptual art, producing drawings, prints and photographs that explore energy, space and the perception in sculpture. Efrat currently lives in Belgium.

Awards and recognition

• 1966 America-Israel Cultural Foundation
• 1969 Sixth Paris Biennale for Young Artists
• 1974 Sandberg Prize for Israeli Art, Israel Museum of Jerusalem
• 1992 America-Israel Cultural Foundation

Gallery

• 
  Substance moving, 1969
  Sponge, foam rubber and metal panel
• 
  Energy, 1969
  Stainless steel
  Tel Aviv University
• 
  Extrapolations, limestone and steel cable sculpture, 1978, Israel Museum, Jerusalem
• 
  Stain on the Vision, 1999
  Zinc coated barbed wire sculpture
  Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv

See also

• Visual arts in Israel