Roy Efrat

Roy Efrat (Hebrew: רועי אפרת; born July 22, 1979) is an Israeli-German visual artist who lives and works in Berlin. He works with painting, video, installation, and augmented reality (AR), and engages with a myth from Jewish tradition and figures from Greek mythology.

Early life and education

Roy Efrat was born in Jerusalem in 1979 and lived there until he was 19.[1] He trained and worked as a dancer with the choreographer Yehudit Arnon in Kibbutz Ga'aton.[2] Later, he performed under choreographers such as Yossi Yungman,[3] Noa Dar,[2] Maya Brinner,[4] and Anat Katz.[5] He received a B.F.A. from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art in 2013 [6] and an MFA from the Painting department at the Royal College of Art in London in 2018.[7] His thesis is Painting with Video Intervention. The painting is an arena for both arrested and dynamic movement.[8]

Works

Efrat’s practice began with projecting video onto painted surfaces and evolved into immersive installations and augmented reality environments. Solo Exhibitions such as Lights Out [9] at Braverman Gallery [10] and Dialectic (2015) [11] focused on painting installations with complex layered video surfaces. His 2016 installation Deadlock at Kibbutz Be'eri's gallery [12] used five synchronized projections and painted structures, ending with a projection of fire covering the entire gallery space.[13] Later projects introduced video mapping and augmented reality to address visual perception and narrative, including Trap (ArtLacuna) [14] and Othering (Wannsee Contemporary). With choreographer Mami Shimazaki, he developed 2009 several collaborative works, such as Flood [15] Soda, Wonder Fall, Der Dybbuk,[16] and Between Two Worlds at the Negev Museum of Art.[17]

He collaborated with artist Catrin Webster at the URRA Residency in Buenos Aires in 2015.[18] Their joint projects include Pansy (Glynn Vivian Art Gallery[19] and Aberystwyth Arts Centre), (November 2024).[20] Passing (ArtLacuna 2020), and Orlando: Metamorphosis (Green Man Festival 2022). With Adam Kalderon, Efrat has co-created performances (The Usher 2009, Flood 2011,[15] Soda 2012), visual works (Gifted 2017, The Maids 2018, Inn a Box 2018), and contributed to Kalderon’s films Marzipan Flowers (2014) [21] and The Swimmer (2021).[22] Efrat also composes original music for his video works.

Themes

Roy Efrat’s work addresses identity, gender, otherness, vulnerability, and mythology. His installations explore emotional states, cultural displacement, and personal memory. He often draws inspiration from writers like Franz Kafka and Thomas Mann, whose focus on alienation and identity echoes throughout his practice.[23] In Dialect (2015), Efrat examines the architectural, spiritual, and emotional structure of the Taharah Mikveh for Men, exploring the intersection of religious, secular, and masculine identity. The work uses drawing and video, where light reveals images and movement becomes essential to the narrative.[11] In his collaborative project Pansy (2020–24) with artist Catrin Webster, Efrat explores overlapping meanings of the word “pansy,” referencing Kafka’s The Castle, and addressing themes of identity, sexuality, and perception; showing Pansy as a large scale installation combining oil painting and a large scale video mapped painting.[23]

Mediums

Efrat combines painting with video, projection, and augmented reality (AR), often layering digital media directly onto physical surfaces. His background in dance informs the rhythm and composition of his visual work. He has described his paintings as “stages for performance,” [24] and frequently collaborates with performers and choreographers.[25]

Personal life

Efrat is in a relationship with filmmaker Adam Kalderon.[26] They live in Berlin.[27]

Awards and residencies

Exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

  • 2016 - The Daily Image - July, Erev-Rav.com.[40]
  • 2016 - Traces VI, the 6th Biennale for Drawing in Israel, Barbur Gallery, Jerusalem.[41]
  • 2017 - Untitled#, Braverman Gallery, Tel Aviv.[42]
  • 2018 - Living Room, Safe House, London.[43]
  • 2018 - RCA Graduation show, Sackler building, Royal College of Art, London.[7]
  • 2018 – TBCTV, featured in a Somerset House studios members' Mel Brimfield, Ewan Jones, and Chloe Lamford exhibition, Somerset House, London.[44]
  • 2019 - Hello World, Braverman Gallery, Tel Aviv.[45]
  • 2022 - Motion: Movement and Dance in Contemporary Art, Negev Museum of Art, Beer Sheva.[17]
  • 2023 - Channelling: Outset Studiomakers Corridor, Frieze Art Fair, London.[46]

References

  1. ^ Nati Ornan (September 5, 2008). Breaking Out of the Walls. Ha'ir.
  2. ^ a b (August 10, 2008). A-Genre Festival at Tmuna Theater. Habama.
  3. ^ Merav Yudilovitch (January 30, 2006). Yossi Jungman's Dance Company Performing in New York (January 30, 2006). Ynet.
  4. ^ Ruth Eshel (November 5, 2007). Dancing a Story. Haaretz.
  5. ^ Ruth Eshel (July 29, 2009). Israeli Steps: What Do Your Feet Say?. Haaretz.
  6. ^ Hagit Peleg-Rotem (July 30, 2013). Mature Art: Shenkar Graduates Exhibit Artistic Excellence. Globes.
  7. ^ a b Zachary Small (June 29, 2018). The Royal College of Art’s Massive MFA Show Spans the Entire Artistic Kingdom. Hyperallergic.
  8. ^ (2018). MA work by Roy Efrat. Royal College of Art.
  9. ^ Meital Raz (February 24, 2015). The Dance Machine: A solo exhibition that bridges dance and visual art. Time Out Tel Aviv.
  10. ^ Braverman's Gallery Entry in the Hebrew Wikipedia
  11. ^ a b Roy Efrat and Yeshaiahu Rabinovitch, Dialectic. Artists Studios Tlv.
  12. ^ a b Eitan Bouganim (March 30, 2016). The artist who traces the footsteps of the Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard. Haaretz.
  13. ^ (September 11, 2017). Roy Efrat, solo show, Trap at ArtLacuna, London.
  14. ^ a b Elad Samorzik (August 9, 2011). Inundating the Senses. Haaretz.
  15. ^ Ruth Eshel (August 14, 2011). Dance | A Showcase of Works by Mami Shimazaki. Haaretz.
  16. ^ a b (May - November 2022). Motion: Movement and Dance in Contemporary Israeli Art. Negev Museum of Art.
  17. ^ a b (2015). URRA Art Residencies and Exchanges, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  18. ^ Emma Smith (October 7, 2020). Glynn Vivian Art Gallery Opening, Review. Buzz Magazine.
  19. ^ Exhibitions. Art Monthly no.481. p. 48.
  20. ^ Prahim shel Martzipan. Cinema of Israel. An Entry in The Hebrew Wikipedia
  21. ^ The Swimmer. Israel Film Fund.
  22. ^ a b Roy Efrat and Catrin Webster, Pansy. Glynn Vivian Art Gallery.
  23. ^ Artist in Focus: Roy Efrat. Braverman Gallery.
  24. ^ Rafi Barbiro (September 29, 2009). One Adorable Woman. Ynet.
  25. ^ An Entry in the Hebrew Wikipedia about Adam Kalderon
  26. ^ Smadar Shiloni (October 31, 2024). I told her I loved her, and we broke up. That was the last time I spoke to her. Ynet.
  27. ^ (November 22, 2011). Roy Efrat, a student in the Multidisciplinary Art Department, received the 2011 Tali Sidi Award for Young Artist Excellence. Shenkar College of Engineering and Design.
  28. ^ (March 20, 2013). Calcalist Competition – Most Promising Artist of 2013. Calcalist.
  29. ^ Roy Efrat, Award. 19th Japan Media Arts Festival, Jury Selection.
  30. ^ Alice Newbold (September 27, 2018). First A$AP Ferg, Now Tiffany & Co. Is Backing Britain's Young Artists. British Vogue.
  31. ^ Eitan Bouganim (January 7, 2015). A Tormented Gaze. Haaretz.
  32. ^ (September 11, 2017). Roy Efrat, solo show, ‘Trap’ at ArtLacuna, London.
  33. ^ (February 27, 2021). Council venues in Swansea mark LGBT+ History Month. Swansea Bay News.
  34. ^ (September 5–27, 2020). Roy Efrat · Catrin Webster, Passing. ArtLacuna.
  35. ^ (August 21, 2022). Catrin Webster & Roy Effrat. Green Man Festival.
  36. ^ Uri Sela (October 11, 2024). Processing Emotion: Pain, Loss, and Grief Through the Eyes of Designers. Israel Hayom.
  37. ^ (November 2024). Exhibitions. Art Monthly no.481. p. 48.
  38. ^ Roy Efrat – Solo Exhibition. Wannsee Contemporary.
  39. ^ (July 2016). The Daily Image by Roy Efrat. Erev-Rav.com.
  40. ^ Eitan Bouganim (November 24, 2016). The Artists Who Went Hunting with Paper. Haaretz.
  41. ^ (April 4, 2017). Untitled: A Group Exhibition Showcasing Diverse Artistic Techniques.
  42. ^ (April 19–20, 2018). Living Room. im labor.
  43. ^ (October 2018). Screen Schedule. Somerset House.
  44. ^ Keren Goldberg (June 14, 2019). Weekly recommendation: Hello World. Erev-Rav.
  45. ^ (2023). Channelling: Outset Studiomakers Corridor.
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