Born in Tel Aviv in 1949 to a family of art collectors and dealers, Yoav Becher spent his childhood roaming the city’s museums and exploring the ateliers of some of the country’s finest artists, where he first discovered the joys of painting. 

After operating a small frame shop in neighbouring Bat Yam, Becher went to Canada in 1974 where he spent two years promoting Israeli art by arranging group and individual exhibitions in Montreal and Toronto.

Upon his return to Israel, Becher opened Yoav Art Gallery, which is now in its 16th year of operation.  He also pursued the more tactile aspect of his vocation by taking a course in etching at the Israeli Artists and Sculptors Association.

In 1989, with the scope of the original gallery having expanded to incorporate a publishing house for prints by a wide range of artists, Becher felt drawn by memories of those early studio wanderings and found himself once again picking up brush and palette.

Whether in soft pastels on a watercolour base or bright, primary colours in an acrylic medium, Becher’s work today reflects naïve romanticism blended with the maturity of an experienced eye. Tranquil rural scenes, Old World cafes, cascades of flowers, and women deep in thought all express a longing for a time gone by and a yearning for a better future.