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