Benni Efrat

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

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