
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 Academy’s Mt. Scopus building dedication in 1990 by Philip Lieder, the curator, critic and founding editor of ARTFORUM.
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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THE ART
Efrat Baler creates immersive, multidimensional artworks that challenge the boundaries of traditional painting, inviting viewers into a world where canvases come alive and demand active examination and engagement. By blurring the lines between painting and sculpture, she expands the spatial presence of paintings, reimagining the place and space of this traditional art form. Her pieces transcend traditional wall displays and incorporate three-dimensional elements that shift on, beneath, or behind the canvas. They can be found on stands, pedestals, and turntables.
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Employing transdisciplinary techniques, Efrat constructs and deconstructs her paintings, revealing a pseudo-animation that exposes the intricate process, layered meanings, and evolving forms within. This process showcases the artist's brushstrokes, planning tools, and techniques. She encourages viewers to peel back the layers, both physical and conceptual, granting them a glimpse into the inner workings of her sculptural paintings and revealing elements often concealed from plain sight.
Efrat's artworks venture beyond the confines of traditional painting, incorporating materials and concepts that transcend conventional boundaries. Drawing inspiration from diverse contexts, cultures, and disciplines, her themes are influenced by pop culture, current events, cultural trends, art about art, as well as personal and social issues.
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She explores the art of painting in its entirety, encompassing application, process, and physical embodiment, while infusing traditional techniques, mediums, and tools with a fresh perspective. Through her artworks, Efrat visually conveys the concept of dynamic entities and their transformative nature, challenging established boundaries and unlocking the potential of painting through multidimensional forms and interactive displays. She showcases canvases as floor standing or tabletop artworks that can be rotated, walked around, and viewed from various vantage points, revealing and utilizing their backsides. This allows viewers to engage with the artworks from different angles and offers a fundamentally different and interactive experience, departing from the traditional static frontal viewing experiences of paintings.
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By challenging spatial conventions and experimenting with innovative modes of exhibition and engagement, Efrat pushes the limits of what painting can be. Her approach not only caters to new media experiences, fleeting attention spans, and the evolved viewing habits of today's audiences but also honors the traditional techniques, craftsmanship, and artistry of conventional painting. Efrat invites audiences to actively engage with her multidimensional artworks, prompting them to question preconceived notions of 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.
HONORS
2023 Critic's Award, LEONA POST AWARDS EXHIBIT | Long Beach Artists League
2023 Honorable Mention Award, ASIAN INSPIRED ART | Long Beach Artists League
2022 Honorable Mention Award, 66TH ANNUAL MEMBERS’ EXHIBITION | Art League of Long Island
2021 Members' Choice Award Winner, MEMBERS' CHOICE Long Beach Artists League
1983 American Israeli Culture Foundation Scholarship for 1983-84, The Helena Rubinstein Grant (Keren Sharet)
1977 Artistic Youth Delegation of the Jerusalem Municipality to Austria and France
1976 Scholarship from the "Black Panthers" to study at the Jerusalem Artists House
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 YUPO PAPER PAINTINGS AND OTHERS | Long Beach Historical Society Museum, Long Beach, NY
2017 SOLO EXHIBITION | Tugboat, PLG Arts, Brooklyn, NY
1991 SOLO EXHIBITION | Painters & Sculptures Association, Tel-Aviv, Israel
SOLO EXHIBITION | Municipal Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
1985 MUTATIONS | Anatea Gallery, Tel-Aviv, Israel
1976 SOLO EXHIBITION | Jerusalem Municipality Youth Dept., Municipal Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 NEW BEGINNINGS OPEN EXHIBIT | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
PET PORTRAIT SHOW | West End Arts Guild, Long Beach Public Library, NY
TRANSPLANTS | Amos Eno Gallery, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
SPRING BOUNTY | Betzalel Gallery, Long Beach Public Library, NY
LEONA POST AWARDS EXHIBIT (Critic's Award) | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
SENSE Digital exhibition | Arthouse.nyc, New York, NY
WOMEN CELEBRATE WOMEN 2023 | El Barrio Artspace, PS 109, New York, NY
61st LONG ISLAND ARTISTS BIENNIAL | Art League of Long Island, Dix Hills, NY
NEW HORIZON | Long Beach Artists League, Rockville Centre Public Library, NY
ASIAN INSPIRED ART (Honorable Mention Award) | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
2022 CELEBRATION OF ART | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
66TH ANNUAL MEMBERS' EXHIBITION (Honorable Mention Award), Art League of Long Island | Dix Hills, NY
FORCES OF NATURE | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
OCTOBER MEMBERSHIP EXHIBIT | Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
THE BEST OF WEST END ART | West End Arts Guild, Long Beach Public Library, NY
THE LEONA POST SUMMER AWARDS EXHIBIT| Long Beach Artists League, Long Beach Public Library, NY
WORDS & PICTURES | Long Beach Artists League Member Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
65TH ANNUAL MEMBERS' EXHIBITION | Art League of Long Island, Dix Hills, NY
ANEW – A New Member Exhibit | Long Beach Artists League Member Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
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2021 MEMBERS' CHOICE | Long Beach Artists League (Members' Choice award) | Long Beach Public Library, NY
THANKFUL | Long Beach Artists League Member Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
REFLECTIONS | Long Beach Artists League Member Juried Exhibit, Long Beach Public Library, NY
GOOD NEIGHBORS | Amos Eno Gallery, East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
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2019 LIC FEAR III | LIC Arts Open | The Plaxall Gallery, Long Island City, NY
DIGITAL EXHIBITION | Artbox.Gallery, Zürich, Switzerland
GIANT STEPS | Open Gallery, Long Island City, NY
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2018 FALL SALON | LIC Arts Open | The Plaxall Gallery, Long Island City, NY
FROM MINISCULE TO MONUMENTAL | LIC Arts Open Gallery, The Factory | LIC, NY
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2017 THE 5 NAPKIN SHOW | LIC Arts Open | Gallery II, The Factory, LIC, NY
DEBTFAIR Biennial 2017 | Occupy Museums project, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
ANIMALIA | Local Project Gallery, Long Island City, NY
2016 LIC ARTS OPEN | LIC Arts Open, Long Island City, NY
DIORAMARAMA | Club 157 | Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
THE FOOD SHOW | Local Project Gallery, Long Island City, NY
2014 THE SELFIE SHOW | MONA, Museum of New Art, Armada, MI
ANNUAL SMALL WORKS SHOW | 440 Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2013 PLG ARTS GROUP EXHIBITION | Tugboat, Brooklyn, NY
2012 GO, BROOKLYN ART | Community Curated Open Studio Project, Artist’s Studio, Prospect Lefferts, Brooklyn, NY
THE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST FAIR | Parallax Art Fair, SoHo, NY
2011 GENERATIONS VIII | A.I.R Gallery, Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY
THE NEIGHBORHOOD | PLG Arts, Brooklyn, NY
2008 1ST ANNUAL GROUP SHOW | PLG Arts', K-Dog & Dune Buggy café, Brooklyn, NY
2006/07 TRACING SHADOWS | Israel Museum Youth Wing, Jerusalem, Israel
1999 THE BEGINNING…A SPACE EXHIBIT | The Space Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
1998 GROUP EXHIBITION | The Emerging Collector, New York, NY
SEND IN THE CLONES | The Emerging Collector, New York, NY
DIANA FEVER | The Emerging Collector, New York, NY
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1995 NATIONAL SHOWCASE IV | Alternative Museum, New York, NY
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1992 3 ARTISTS | The Red Building, Tel-Aviv, Israel
1990 PROMISE,10 Bezalel Artists Most Promising Artists of The Last Decade | Bezalel, Jerusalem, Israel
ARTISTS PAINTING ON A BILLBOARD | Public Gallery Project, 35 Lang St. Frankfurt, Germany
1989 GROUP EXHIBITION | Painters and Sculptors Association House, Tel-Aviv, Israel
1988 ARTISTS FOR THE AIDS TASK FORCE | Richter Gallery, Jaffa, Israel
1986 CATASTROPHE | Jerusalem Theater, Israel
FIRST SHOWING | Dizengoff Center, Tel-Aviv, Israel
1985 FIRST LINE | Ein Harod Museum, Kibbutz Ein Harod, Israel
VISITING ARTIST LECTURES/PRESENTATIONS
1998 The History of Israeli Art & Artist's Artwork | Scholar in Residence Series, The San Francisco Library, CA
1996 Slide Work Presentation of Artist's Works and Contemporary Israeli Art | California State University, Hillel House, CA | Chico State University, CA | Monterey Peninsula College, CA | San Francisco State University, CA | San Jose State University, CA | University of California, CA | Berkeley, CA | Congregation Sherith Israel San Francisco, CA
AFFILIATIONS
The Jewish Art Salon | America-Israel Cultural Foundation | Long Beach Art League | West End Arts Artists Guild |
Art League of Long Island
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
PUBLICATIONS
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Leider, Philip. “PROMISE–Ten Bezalel Artists of the last decade”. Publication in honor of the inauguration of the new Bezalel campus on Mount Scopus. Published by BEZALEL ACADEMY OF ART AND DESIGN. June 1990.
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Ben-Noon, Yigal/ Cohen Gan, Pinchas/Lavi, Rafi/Dr. Ofrat, Gideon. “SIR LACHATZ (Pressure Cooker)–Young Art in Israel–at the Jerusalem Theater”. (Exhibition catalog). Israel: Published by STAVIT. March 1986.
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Bar-Or, Gila and Cohen Gan, Pinchas, “FRONT LINE–Group Show. Israeli Artists June–July 1985. Mishkan Leomanut Ein Harod”. Israel: Published by MISHKAN LE OMANUT MUSEUM OF ART EIN HAROD. June 1985.
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“YOUNG ARTIST’ EXHIBITION Artists House Jerusalem Summer 84’” Israel: Published by STUDIO 106. June 1984.
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WEBSITE PUBLICATIONS
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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
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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
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Featured Artist April 2019 on ARTSY SHARK https://www.artsyshark.com/2019/04/02/featured-artist-efrat-baler/
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PRESS & INTERVIEWS
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Weiss, Suzanne “Israeli art reflects pastiche of cultures, artist asserts”. JEWISH BULLETIN OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (Weekly March 1998): Entertainment/Arts/Sports.
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Photo of a painting. AL’HAMISHMAR (Daily Newspaper). Israel, (1992 Jewish New Year edition): Art and Culture.
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Director, Rutt “5 Faces of Young Art - Review of exhibition at the Red Building”. MAARIV, (Evening newspaper), Israel. (07.10.1992): Art Review.
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Photo of a painting, HA’ER. (Weekly Newspaper). Jerusalem, Israel. (09/02/1990): Back Cover
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Painting on the Front Cover. WELCOME (Magazine of the Israel Airports) published by Israel Airports Authority Ben Gurion Airport. Israel. (Spring/Summer 1992) Cover
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Vekshtein, David, “Artist Monologue” ARIM (Cities) (Weekly Newspaper). Tel Aviv, Israel. (07/12/1991): Art Section
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Baler, Efrat. “About Art on a billboard–Efrat Baler in Frankfurt, Germany”. STUDIO (Israeli Art Magazine), Israel. (February 1990 Edition): page 57
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Photo of a painting from an exhibition, AL’HAMISHMAR (Daily Newspaper). Israel. (03/14/1986): Art Section
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Reviews and photo of a painting. KOL HA’EIR (Weekly Newspaper). Jerusalem, Israel. (02/28/1986): Art Section
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Broshi, Oded “No Ideology - First Exhibition of the Year–9 artists”, YEDIOT ACHRONOT (Evening Newspaper). Israel. (01/31/1986): Art and Culture
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Photo of a painting from an exhibition, HA’ARETZ (Daily Newspaper). Israel. (04/19/1985): Art Section
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“V” - Painting commissioned by magazine, TATRAMA (Art Magazine). Israel. (June 1985): International Edition No. 3
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Levi, Itamar, “Joining the Family. Review of art show - Bezalel Art Academy Art Dept., Graduate Show” YEDIOT ACHRONOT (Evening Newspaper). Israel. (June 1984): Art Section
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Goldstein, Gary, “Review of 3rd year Bezalel Art Academy Students end-of-year show” KOL HA’EIR (Weekly Newspaper). Jerusalem, Israel, (June 1983): Art and Culture section.