
ABOUT THE ARTIST
BIOGRAPHY
Efrat Baler-Moses, known by the nickname Effi, is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York. Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Efrat began her artistic journey at an early age, receiving as a teenager a scholarship from the "Black Panthers" for study at the Jerusalem Artist House and solo exhibitions sponsored by the Jerusalem Municipality Youth Department at the Jerusalem Municipal Gallery and community centers. She was selected to participate in the inaugural artistic youth delegation and exhibitions, sponsored by the Jerusalem Municipality, to Austria and France in 1977.
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Efrat went on to complete her BFA in Sculpture and Painting at the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem, Israel, where she was a recipient of the Helena Rubinstein - American-Israeli Culture Foundation grant. Her talent and promise were further recognized when she was selected as one of the ten most promising Bezalel Artists of the last decade on the occasion of the Bezalel Academyโs Mt. Scopus building dedication in 1990 by Philip Lieder, the curator, critic and founding editor of ARTFORUM.
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In 1993, as a dual citizen of both the United States and Israel, Efrat relocated to New York, aiming to further her artistic practice.
Efrat has lectured on the history of Israeli art and her own artworks as part of the Scholar in Residence Series at the San Francisco Library and as a guest lecturer at other prestigious institutions. Aside from being a practicing artist, she has worked in part-time positions including at the Tate Americas Foundation (American Patrons of Tate), and as a private art instructor and art educator, teacher, and lecturer to a range of public and private schools, community centers, and institutions in New York City, Brooklyn, and Jerusalem.
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Efrat has had over 50 group shows and 5 solo exhibitions across the United States, Israel, and Germany. Her artworks are held in private collections. Currently, Efrat devotes herself full-time to her artistic practice and has relocated her studio from Brooklyn to a larger space in Long Beach, NY.
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ARTIST'Sย STATEMENT
I create immersive, multidimensional artworks that challenge the boundaries and semantics of traditional painting. By blurring the lines between painting and sculpture, I expand the spatial presence of my pieces, reimagining the place and space of this traditional art form. My artworks transcend traditional wall displays and incorporate three-dimensional elements that shift on, beneath, or behind the canvas. I showcase canvases on walls, stands, pedestals, turntables, and as floor-standing artworks that can be walked around or rotated, viewed from various vantage points, revealing and utilizing the backsides of the canvas as well. This allows the audience a different and more interactive experience, departing from the traditional static frontal viewing, typical of painting.
I create hybrid entities constructing and deconstructing, revealing a pseudo-animation that exposes the intricate process, layered meanings, and evolving forms within, showcasing the artist's brushstrokes, planning tools, and techniques.
Drawing inspiration from diverse contexts, cultures, and disciplines, my themes are influenced by pop culture, current events, cultural trends, art about art, personal and social issues. My exploration of uniting different dimensions and creating paintings that extend beyond traditional wall displays stems from my experiences as a transplant in different cultures. The artworks visually convey the concept of moving entities and their transformations.
My approach addresses the two pivotal components of a painting: the application techniques of colors and forms by an artist and the frontal viewing of the outcome by a spectator. Not much has changed in this system for ages, yet one partner in this equation has moved onโthe viewers and their habits. Viewing habits have developed; the duration and method of observation have shifted. The modern-day partner in this system is exposed to overstimulation that has dampened their attention span, and their expectations as spectators have changed. Virtual reality, immersive technologies, moving images, and electronic scrolling have turned art viewing into a faster-paced endeavor. Viewing art has mostly stopped being a contemplative action that engrosses and takes time. I create paintings that change the system slightly for both parties. I try to shift the onlookerโs attention and the viewing habits of the digital age spectator for a few more seconds by creating paintings that require a revised and longer look, one that goes beyond a passive, frontal viewing and questions preconceived notions of how we can view a painting, what a painting is, and can be, both within and beyond the confines of the wall.
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EDUCATION
1980-84 Bezalel Art Academy, Jerusalem, Israel. Graduated with BFA from the Sculpture & Painting Dept.
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HONORS
2023 ย ย Critic's Award, LEONA POST AWARDS EXHIBIT | Long Beach Artists League
2023 ย ย Honorable Mention Award, ASIAN INSPIRED ART | Long Beach Artists League
2022 ย ย Honorable Mention Award, 66TH ANNUAL MEMBERSโ EXHIBITION | Art League of Long Island
2021 ย ย Members' Choice Award Winner, MEMBERS' CHOICE Long Beach Artists League
1983 ย ย American Israeli Culture Foundation Scholarship for 1983-84, The Helena Rubinstein Grant (Keren Sharet)
1977 ย ย Artistic Youth Delegation of the Jerusalem Municipality to Austria and Franceย
1976 ย ย Scholarship from the "Black Panthers" to study at the Jerusalem Artists House
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SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 ย ย YUPO PAPER PAINTINGS AND OTHERS | Long Beach Historical Society Museum, Long Beach, NY
2017 ย ย SOLO EXHIBITION | Tugboat, PLG Arts, Brooklyn, NYยญยญ
1991 ย ย SOLO EXHIBITION | Painters & Sculptures Association, Tel-Aviv, Israel
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย SOLO EXHIBITION | Municipal Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
1985ย ย ย MUTATIONS | Anatea Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel
1976 ย ย SOLO EXHIBITION | Jerusalem Municipality Youth Dept., Municipal Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
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SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
ย 2023ย ย STAV Israeli Artists | Israeli Artist Project, 14th Street Y Gallery, New York, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย NEW BEGINNINGS OPEN EXHIBIT | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย PET PORTRAIT SHOW | West End Arts Guild, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย TRANSPLANTS | Amos Eno Gallery, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYย
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย SPRING BOUNTY | Betzalel Gallery, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย LEONA POST AWARDS EXHIBIT (Critic's Award) | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย SENSE Digital exhibition | Arthouse.nyc, New York, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย WOMEN CELEBRATE WOMEN 2023 | El Barrio Artspace, PS 109,ย New York, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 61st LONG ISLAND ARTISTS BIENNIAL | Art League of Long Island, Dix Hills, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย NEW HORIZON | Long Beach Artists League, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ASIAN INSPIRED ART (Honorable Mention Award) | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
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2022ย ย ย CELEBRATION OF ART | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 66TH ANNUAL MEMBERS' EXHIBITION (Honorable Mention Award), Art League of Long Island | Dix Hills, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย FORCES OF NATURE | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย OCTOBER MEMBERSHIP EXHIBIT | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย THE BEST OF WEST END ART | West End Arts Guild, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย THE LEONA POST SUMMER AWARDS EXHIBIT| Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย WORDS & PICTURES | Long Beach Artists League Member Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 65TH ANNUAL MEMBERS' EXHIBITION | Art League of Long Island, Dix Hills, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ANEW โ A New Member Exhibit | Long Beach Artists League Member Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
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2021ย ย ย MEMBERS' CHOICE | Long Beach Artists League (Members' Choice award) | Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย THANKFUL | Long Beach Artists League Member Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย REFLECTIONS | Long Beach Artists League Member Juried Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย GOOD NEIGHBORS | Amos Eno Gallery, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
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2019ย ย ย LIC FEAR III | LIC Arts Open | The Plaxall Gallery, Long Island City, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย DIGITAL EXHIBITION | Artbox.Gallery, Zรผrich, Switzerland
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย GIANT STEPS | Openยญยญ Gallery, Long Island City, NY
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2018ย ย ย FALL SALON | LIC Arts Open | The Plaxall Gallery, Long Island City, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย FROM MINISCULE TO MONUMENTAL | LIC Arts Open Gallery, The Factory | LIC, NY
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2017ย ย ย THE 5 NAPKIN SHOW | LIC Arts Open | Gallery II, The Factory, LIC, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย DEBTFAIR Biennial 2017 | Occupy Museums project, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ANIMALIA | Local Project Gallery, Long Island City, NY
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2016ย ย ย LIC ARTS OPEN | LIC Arts Open, Long Island City, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย DIORAMARAMA | Club 157 | Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย THE FOOD SHOW | Local Project Gallery, Long Island City, NY
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2014ย ย ย THE SELFIE SHOW | MONA, Museum of New Art, Armada, MI
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ANNUAL SMALL WORKS SHOW | 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
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2013ย ย ย PLG ARTS GROUP EXHIBITION | Tugboat, Brooklyn, NY
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2012ย ย ย GO, BROOKLYN ART | Community Curated Open Studio Project, Artistโs Studio, Prospect Lefferts, Brooklyn, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย THE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST FAIR | Parallax Art Fair, SoHo, NY
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2011ย ย ย GENERATIONS VIII | A.I.R Gallery, Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย THE NEIGHBORHOOD | PLG Arts, Brooklyn, NY
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2008ย ย ย 1ST ANNUAL GROUP SHOW | PLG Arts', K-Dog & Dune Buggy cafรฉ, Brooklyn, NY
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2006/07 TRACING SHADOWS | Israel Museum Youth Wing, Jerusalem, Israel
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1999ย ย ย THE BEGINNINGโฆA SPACE EXHIBIT | The Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
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1998ย ย ย GROUP EXHIBITION | The Emerging Collector, New York, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย SEND IN THE CLONES | The Emerging Collector, New York, NY
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย DIANA FEVER | The Emerging Collector, New York, NY
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1995 ย ย NATIONAL SHOWCASE IV | Alternative Museum, New York, NY
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1992 ย ย 3 ARTISTS | The Red Building, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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1990ย ย ย PROMISE,10 Bezalel Artists Most Promising Artists of The Last Decade | Bezalel, Jerusalem, Israel
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ARTISTS PAINTING ON A BILLBOARD | Public Gallery Project, 35 Lang St. Frankfurt, Germany
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1989ย ย ย GROUP EXHIBITION | Painters and Sculptors Association House, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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1988ย ย ย ARTISTS FOR THE AIDS TASK FORCE | Richter Gallery, Jaffa, Israel
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1986ย ย ย CATASTROPHE | Jerusalem Theater, Israel
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย FIRST SHOWING | Dizengoff Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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1985ย ย ย FIRST LINE | Ein Harod Museum, Kibbutz Ein Harod, Israel
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VISITING ARTIST LECTURES/PRESENTATIONS
1998 ย ย The History of Israeli Art & Artist's Artwork | Scholar in Residence Series, The San Francisco Library, CA
1996 ย ย Slide Work Presentation of Artist's Works and Contemporary Israeli Art | California State University, Hillel House, CAย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย | Chico State University, CA | Monterey Peninsula College, CA | San Francisco State University, CA | San Jose Stateย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย University, CA | University of California, CA | Berkeley, CA | Congregation Sherith Israel San Francisco, CA
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AFFILIATIONS
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย The Jewish Art Salon | America-Israel Cultural Foundation | Long Beach Art League | West End Arts Artists Guild ย |
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Art League of Long Island
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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
PUBLICATIONS
Leider, Philip. โPROMISEโTen Bezalel Artists of the last decadeโ. Publication in honor of the inauguration of the new Bezalel campus on Mount Scopus. Published by BEZALEL ACADEMY OF ART AND DESIGN. June 1990.
Ben-Noon, Yigal/ Cohen Gan, Pinchas/Lavi, Rafi/Dr. Ofrat, Gideon. โSIR LACHATZ (Pressure Cooker)โYoung Art in Israelโat the Jerusalem Theaterโ. (Exhibition catalog). Israel: Published by STAVIT. March 1986.
Bar-Or, Gila and Cohen Gan, Pinchas, โFRONT LINEโGroup Show. Israeli Artists JuneโJuly 1985. Mishkan Leomanut Ein Harodโ. Israel: Published by MISHKAN LE OMANUT MUSEUM OF ART EIN HAROD. June 1985.
โYOUNG ARTISTโ EXHIBITION Artists House Jerusalem Summer 84โโ Israel: Published by STUDIO 106. June 1984.
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WEBSITE PUBLICATIONS
Excerpt recording from THE JEWISH ART SALON After the Flood: Regenesis V open studios. Presenting and discussing artworks relating to this theme. Artworks done during Covid lockdown and before. Curated by Dorit Jordan Dotan and Judith Joseph. https://youtu.be/p8wSIhGniR8
The Food Show Exhibition, Local Project, Long Island City, NY 2016. NY1 TV segment (0:15 sec and end 1:18) Showing Piece of Cake, Pear it, Lemon Aid, FRUITION and Applet artworks. https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/03/8/all--palates--welcome-at-long-island-city-food-art-gallery
Featured Artist April 2019 on ARTSY SHARK https://www.artsyshark.com/2019/04/02/featured-artist-efrat-baler/
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PRESS & INTERVIEWS
Weiss, Suzanne โIsraeli art reflects pastiche of cultures, artist assertsโ. JEWISH BULLETIN OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (Weekly March 1998): Entertainment/Arts/Sports.
Photo of a painting. ALโHAMISHMAR (Daily Newspaper). Israel, (1992 Jewish New Year edition): Art and Culture.
Director, Rutt โ5 Faces of Young Art - Review of exhibition at the Red Buildingโ. MAARIV, (Evening newspaper), Israel. (07.10.1992): Art Review.
Photo of a painting, HAโER. (Weekly Newspaper). Jerusalem, Israel. (09/02/1990): Back Cover
Painting on the Front Cover. WELCOME (Magazine of the Israel Airports) published by Israel Airports Authority Ben Gurion Airport. Israel. (Spring/Summer 1992) Cover
Vekshtein, David, โArtist Monologueโ ARIM (Cities) (Weekly Newspaper). Tel Aviv, Israel. (07/12/1991): Art Section
Baler, Efrat. โAbout Art on a billboardโEfrat Baler in Frankfurt, Germanyโ. STUDIO (Israeli Art Magazine), Israel. (February 1990 Edition): page 57
Photo of a painting from an exhibition, ALโHAMISHMAR (Daily Newspaper). Israel. (03/14/1986): Art Section
Reviews and photo of a painting. KOL HAโEIR (Weekly Newspaper). Jerusalem, Israel. (02/28/1986): Art Section
Broshi, Oded โNo Ideology - First Exhibition of the Yearโ9 artistsโ, YEDIOT ACHRONOT (Evening Newspaper). Israel. (01/31/1986): Art and Culture
Photo of a painting from an exhibition, HAโARETZ (Daily Newspaper). Israel. (04/19/1985): Art Section
โVโ - Painting commissioned by magazine, TATRAMAย (Art Magazine). Israel. (June 1985): International Edition No. 3
Levi, Itamar, โJoining the Family. Review of art show - Bezalel Art Academy Art Dept., Graduate Showโ YEDIOT ACHRONOT (Evening Newspaper). Israel. (June 1984): Art Section
Goldstein, Gary, โReview of 3rd year Bezalel Art Academy Students end-of-year showโ KOL HAโEIR (Weekly Newspaper). Jerusalem, Israel, (June 1983): Art and Culture section.