PAUL STEPHEN BENJAMIN
ATLANTA BLACK
APRIL 21 - JUNE 25, 2023
Black Thought 2022, Paul Stephen Benjamin
(Various Names of Works - 2022), Paul Stephen Benjamin
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
“The artist has to send his mind, his emotions, his eyes ranging across the whole field of vision open to him, probing it’s boundaries to find where he can push them further and further out.”
-Raymond Saunders, | Black is the Color, 1967
In Paul Stephen Benjamin’s Atlanta Black, 2023, the color black is constantly reimagined aesthetically, conceptually, and sonically. While Atlanta Black crafts a visual language of entry points for the consideration of the color black, the artworks presented and Benjamin’s artistic practice deny any specific categorizations or political agendas. Rather, he invites open - ended interpretation. What does Atlanta Black mean to you? How does color, texture, and cascading light resonate and connote meaning for Atlanta Black? This thought provoking exhibition invites the viewer to engage with each work immersively and personally, generating multi-valent interpretations of meaning that are envisioned from the viewer’s experience.
(excerpt written by Nitzanah Griffin)
The works of award winning and critically acclaimed artist Paul Stephen Benjamin will exhibit April 21 through June 25, 2023. Benjamin's breadth of work includes sculptures, video installations, paintings, sound, and performances. His provocative work centers an ongoing exploration of the color black and forces the viewer to consider the existence of Blackness beyond narrow confines. A Chicago native based in Atlanta, Benjamin's art has won many awards and gained notice in the New York Times, Black Art in America, and other well-read publications.
Paul Stephen Benjamin
ARTIST STATEMENT
Drawing from everyday life, art history and my continual pursuit of knowledge, I research and use the color black as inspiration for my work. Black people, black paint, black bricks, black fabric, the word black, and “black songs” are entry points into works of art. I use different materials to create sculptures, paintings, videos and performances. Throughout my work, the recurring theme is the color black. When I incorporate the color black, I am aware of its complex, layered, nuanced history and its myriad connotations. I intentionally address and sustain dialogue with artists and art movements. My intention is to create artworks that balance concept and aesthetic.
ARTIST BIO
Paul Stephen Benjamin was born in Chicago, IL and lives and works in Atlanta, GA. Recently Benjamin has exhibited at Hammonds House Museum, Atlanta, GA (2023), Blackness at the Montresso Art Foundation, Marrakesh, Morocco, (2023), The Thoma Foundation Art Vault, Santa Fe, NM (2022/2023) and a solo exhibition at the Van Every/Smith Galleries, Davidson College, Davidson, NC (2022). He’s been included in solo and group exhibitions at a variety of institutions and art spaces, including Prospect.5 New Orleans, LA (2021/2022). Gavlak Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2021), The Dirty South at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art, Richmond VA (2021), David Lusk Gallery, Nashville, TN (2021), Crystal Bridges Museum and the Momentary, Bentonville, AR (2020), The MAC, Belfast, UK (2019), VCU Institute for Contemporary Art, Richmond, VA (2019), The Havana Biennial in Matanzas, Cuba (2019), Marianne Boesky Gallery, NY, NY (2019), Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA (2018), Telfair Museum Jepson Center, Savannah, GA (2018), The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY (2017), Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, GA (2017), High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA (2016), among others. He has received a range of awards and fellowships, including The Hudgens Prize (2019), Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant (2019), Hambidge Distinguished Fellowship (2019), The Southern Art Prize (2018), The State Fellow of Georgia (2018), Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (WAP) Fellow (2017), Artadia Award (2014), Winnie B. Chandler Fellowship, and the Forward Arts Emerging Artists Award.
ATLANTA BLACK SOUNDTRACK!
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