Benni Efrat (; born 1936) is an Israeli painter, sculptor, printmaker and filmmaker who was born in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Biography

Benni Efrat immigrated to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1947. From 1959 to 1961, he studied at the

Avni Institute of Art and Design Avni Institute of Art and Design is an Israeli art school located in Tel Aviv. History The Studia school (later Avni Institute) was established in 1936De La Fuente S:Black and white in color" '' The Jerusalem Post'' 30 May 2007. Accessed 2008-11- ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

under Yehezkel Streichman (1906–1993). From 1966 to 1976, he lived in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he studied at

Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art school, art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's beca ...

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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Awards and recognition

* 1966 America-Israel Cultural Foundation * 1969 Sixth Paris Biennale for Young Artists * 1974

Sandberg Prize The Sandberg Prize for Israeli Art refers to a prize for art and design awarded at the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, with a particular focus on Israeli art. The prize was inaugurated in 1968 with funds from an anonymous New York City, New York–based ...

for Israeli Art, Israel Museum of Jerusalem * 1992 America-Israel Cultural Foundation

Gallery

File:Buky Schwartz.JPG, Substance moving, 1969
Sponge, foam rubber and metal panel File:Tel aviv campos 012.JPG, Energy, 1969
Stainless steel

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

File:'Extrapolations', limestone and steel cable sculpture by Benni Efrat (Israeli), 1978, Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel.JPG, Extrapolations, limestone and steel cable sculpture, 1978,

Israel Museum The Israel Museum (, ''Muze'on Yisrael'', ) is an Art museum, art and archaeology museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world's leading Encyclopedic museum, encyclopa ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

File:'Stain on the Vision, Summer 2048', zinc coated barbed wire sculpture by Benni Efrat (Israeli), 1999, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Tel Aviv, Israel.jpg, Stain on the Vision, 1999
Zinc coated barbed wire sculpture

Tel Aviv Museum of Art The Tel Aviv Museum of Art ( ''Muzeon Tel Aviv Leomanut'') is an art museum in Tel Aviv, Israel. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and display of modern and contemporary art both from Israel and around the world. History The Tel Aviv ...

, Tel Aviv

References

External links

* * * * Bex, F., W. van Mulders, and H. van Pelt, ''Beyond Surface: Peter Berg, Benni Efrat, Tim Head, Buky Schwartz'',

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

. Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, 1980. * Gintz, Claude, ''Benni Efrat: Quest for Light'',

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, 1982. * Ikon Gallery, ''In fusion: New European Art: Ben Bella, Carlos Capelan, Benni Efrat, Chohreh Feyzdjou, Claudio Goulart, Ying Liang, Lea Lubin, As M'Bengue, Flavio Pons, Felix de Rooy, Ohannes Tapyuli'',

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, UK,

Ikon Gallery The Ikon Gallery () is an England, English art gallery, gallery of contemporary art, located in Brindleyplace, Birmingham. It is housed in the Listed building, Grade II listed, neo-Gothic former Oozells Street Board School, designed by John Henr ...

, 1993. * Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, ''Nature's Factory, Winter 2046, 1888: Benni Efrat and Ronny SomeckWinter 2046'',

, The

, 1998. * Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, ''Benni Efrat: Putney Bridge, 1976. Printed After A Film Projected on a Blackboard, Wiped and Scribbled on With White Chalk'',

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...