Michelle Benoit, all Mixed media on reclaimed Lucite, maple wood. 23 x 23 cm, 9” x 9”, 2016

 

Trooping the Colours

Red, blue, green or yellow are names that we have given colors. They describe phenomena that we perceive sensually. Physically it is electromagnetic radiation. In certain frequencies this matter penetrates, in others it is reflected or absorbed by it and, depending on the reflected wavelength, we can perceive it as red, blue, green or yellow, i.e. see it. A change in the energy status – more or less light – also changes the color impression. The glaze, a painting technique in which pigments of different densities, with a transparent carrier, are superimposed in many layers, makes use of this. The color is created by the mixture of reflected light that we perceive. This painting technique enables the greatest possible plasticity, depth of color and luminosity. With Michelle Benoit, not only is the application of paint transparent and multilayered, but also the painting surface. Different layers of extremely translucent Plexiglas are painted and mounted on top of each other, thus mixing the light reflected from different levels, depending on frequency and intensity, always new and different. Sometimes tender, sometimes pasty, sometimes strong. But their objects always appear to us as if illuminated from within.

 

Ist es rot oder rosa? War nicht das Blau gestern Abend in der Dämmerung heller? Mit jedem Blick auf die sich ständig verändernden Arbeiten von Michelle Benoit entdeckt man Neues. Einen Schimmer, eine Nuance, einen Farbeindruck, den man eben noch anders erlebte.

Rot, Blau, Grün oder Gelb sind Namen, die wir Farben gegeben haben. Sie bezeichnen von uns sinnlich wahrgenommene Phänomene. Physikalisch ist es elektromagnetische Strahlung. In bestimmten Frequenzen durchdringt diese Materie, in anderen wird sie von ihr reflektiert oder absorbiert und wir können sie, je nach reflektierter Wellenlänge, als Rot, Blau, Grün oder Gelb wahrnehmen, also sehen. Auch durch eine Änderung des Energiestatus – mehr oder weniger Licht – ändert sich der Farbeindruck.

Die Lasur, eine Maltechnik, bei der Pigmente in unterschiedlicher Dichte, mit transparentem Träger, in vielen Lagen übereinander gelegt werden, macht sich das zu Nutze. Die Farbigkeit entsteht durch die von uns wahrgenommene Mischung des reflektierten Lichtes. Diese Technik ermöglicht größtmögliche Plastizität, Farbtiefe und Leuchtkraft.

Bei Michelle Benoit ist nun nicht nur der Farbauftrag transparent und vielschichtig, sondern auch der Malgrund. Verschiedene Lagen eines extrem lichtdurchlässigen Plexiglases sind bemalt und übereinander montiert und mischen so das von verschiedenen Ebenen reflektierte Licht, je nach Frequenz und Intensität, immer neu und immer anders. Mal zart, mal pastös, mal kräftig. Immer aber erscheinen uns ihre Objekte wie von innen erleuchtet.

 

catalogue 2021

video diamonds

video 2021

catalogue 2017

 

COLLECTIONS:

Marjorie and Ellery Gordon Collection, Marrakech, University Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering, April Base Studios, The University of Iowa Museum, The Swain School of Design permanent collection, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra

SOLO EXHIBITIONS: 

2023: William Campbell Contemporary: October-November. Fort Worth, Texas. 

2022: Pentimenti Gallery: November- December. Philadelphia, PA. 

2019: Pentimenti Gallery: Paisley through Ninigret Light, November-January. Philadelphia, PA. 

2019: Margaret Thatcher Projects: Back Office Viewing Salon: New Work, Michelle Benoit. April-June. New York NY 

2018: Morotti Arte Contemporanea: Strata di Luce; November Milan, Italy. Solo Exhibition: Catalogue 

2018: AS220 Project Space: Laminae, July, Providence, Rhode Island Solo Exhibition. 

2016: The Maxwell Library: Weights and Measures; Michelle Benoit, Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater MA. Solo Exhibition. 

2015: SpotteArte: Willard Street; Brooklyn, New York. Invitational. Catalogue, Solo Exhibition. 

2014: The Reading Room AS220: The Willard Street Series, Providence, RI December. Solo Exhibition. 

2005: The Wallace Anderson Gallery: Pieces of Place, Bridgewater, MA. Bridgewater State College, Invitational, Solo Exhibition. 

2004: CCRI Knight Campus Art Gallery: Michelle Benoit: New Work. Warwick, RI, Invitational, Solo Exhibition. 

2002: Courthouse Center for The Arts: Compulsion; Michelle Benoit and Tayo Hueser, West Kingstown, RI. Invitational 

2000: The Eve Drewlowe Gallery: Minimalism and Alchemy, Iowa City, IA, University of Iowa. Invitational, Solo Exhibition. 

1999: The Eve Drewlowe Gallery: Column, An Installation, Iowa City, IA,. University of Iowa. Invitational, Solo Exhibition. 

1999: The Reservoir Space: Excavation Project, Iowa City, IA, University of Iowa. Invitational, Solo Exhibition. 

TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS: 

2020: Uli Lang Gallery: Michelle Benoit and Brad Howe, January-February, Bieberach, Germany. 

2018: Margaret Thatcher Projects: Object/Subject Two Voices Michelle Benoit and Kevin Finklea. September, York, NY. 

2017: Thomas Punzmann Contemporary, Michelle Benoit and Brad Howe: September, Frankfurt, Germany. Catalogue 

2017: The Muriel Guepin Gallery: Dive In: Michelle Benoit and Huntz Liu, January, New York, New York. Invitational 

2016: Reynolds Fine Art: Stacy Alickman and Michelle Benoit, March, New Haven, CT: Invitational. 

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS: 

2021: Marquee Projects: Puffy Luminous Frequencies, with J. Adian and D. Bruttig, Bellport NY. 

2021: William Campbell Contemporary: Acanthis, with Otis Jones, Alex Katz, Lloyd Martin, Jeff Kellar, Tom 

Hollenback, more. August – Sept. Fort Worth, Texas. 

2021: Mash Gallery: Visual-O, Group Exhibition, August-October, Arts District, LA. 

2021: Margaret Thatcher Projects: Picnic, group exhibition, June- August, Chelsea, NYC. 

2021: Pentimenti Gallery: Visions of the New Terrain, group exhibition, June- July, Philadelphia, PA. 

2020: Linden Gallery: Art for the Few, group exhibition, November 4 to December 2, 2020, Berlin. 

2020: William Campbell Contemporary, Gems, group exhibition, March-May, Fort Worth, Texas. 

2020: Marquee Projects: Spring Sprung: group exhibition, March-May, Bellport, NY. 

2019: Dryden Gallery: Artists for Amos House, September 27-29. Providence, RI. 

2019: Galerie Robertson Arés: Grand Opening Exhibition; September. Montreal, Quebec. 

2019: Muscarelle Museum of Art: The Adjacent Possible, August 27- September 27 Williamsburg, Virginia. 

2019: Pentimenti Gallery: insert name here, summer group exhibition June- July Philadelphia, PA. 

2019: Margaret Thatcher Projects: Future Tense, Summer group exhibition June – July. Chelsea, NYC. 

2019: Room 83 Spring: Verve, with Gabe Brown, Phyllis Ewen, Dennis Hlynsky, Anne Sargent Walker. May-June, Watertown, Ma. 

2019: Thomas Punzmann Contemporary: Trooping the Colours; with Brad Howe and Eduardo Vega de Seoane. April- July. Frankfurt, DE. Catalogue. 

2019: Freudmonk Gallery: Wall Sculptures, March-May, online Exhibition. 

2019: Mash Gallery: Radiant Spectrum. March- April Los Angeles CA. 

2018: Marquee Projects: Backroom Forward, October, Bellport, New York. 

2018: Bo.Lee Gallery: Whispering Colour, June, July, London, UK. 

2018: VSOP Art and Design Projects: In Search of, May- July, Greenport, New York. 

2018: Mackenzie Fine Art: Michelle Benoit, Marylin Lerner and Peter Schulte. May, New York, New York. 

2018: Thomas Punzmann Contemporary: Group Exhibition with Michael Fieseler, Brad Howe, Zachary Thornton, Eduardo Vega de Seoane. Frankfurt, Germany, Vernissage ; April 25. 

2018: Marquee Projects: Whats the Matter. With Daniel Bruttig, Laura Kaufman and Richard Roth. Bellport, New York. March – April. 

2018: Cordesa Fine Art: Spring Group Show; Los Angeles, California. March 21- April 13. 

2018: The Elizabeth Stone Harper Gallery at Presbyterian College: The Idiosyncratic Pencil, Clinton, SC. 

2017: Andgallery: Connection; international group exhibition, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. December 2- 23. 

2017: Reynolds Fine Art: Small Works 2017; New Haven, Connecticut, November 3- December 23. Catalogue. 

2017: Pentimenti Gallery: Cross Sectional Views, with Vicki Sher and Erik Spehn. October – December. Invitational. 

2017: Platform Contemporary Art Show, Art Book Fair and Film Festival. 60 Americans 2 Exhibition, Brooklyn New York, Sept 29-Oct 1 

2017: Bristol Museum of Art: Summer Dreams and Myth; Bristol, RI . June 2-August 6. Invitational. 

2017: Mackenzie Fine Art: Translucent exhibition, New York, NY, June 23-August 12 

2017: Morotti Arte Contemporanea, Milano, Italy, June 8 

2017: Morotti Arte Contemporanea: 10 Artists for 10 Years: Varese, Italy, March16-April 9. Invitational. 

2017: Frieze New York, Randall’s Island Park; curated by Terrence Sanders, 60 Americans. New York, NY. Invitational, May 5 

2017: Boston Art Inc.: In house gallery, consulting firm. Boston Massachusetts. May 2017 to May 2018. 

2017: 57 W 57 Arts, Group exhibition: New York, NY, February – November. 

2016-17: Gebert Contemporary on Main. Scottsdale, AZ. Invitational 

2016: Makeshift Museum: 60 Americans, Curated by Terrence Sanders. Los Angeles CA. Invitational. 

2016-17: Artspace, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 64, New York, NY: July 2016-July 2017 Invitational. 

2016: Boeker Contemporary: Fiction (With Only Daylight Between Us) .v2, Heidelberg Germany. Traveling exhibition September 2016-Present. Curated by Jeffrey Cortland Jones. Invitational 

2016: Corridor Projects: Fiction (With Only Daylight Between Us), Dayton Ohio. Curated by Jeffrey Cortland Jones. Invitational 

2016: Safe Harbors Ann Street Gallery: Language of Patterns, Newburgh New York. Curated by Virginia Walsh. Invitational 

2016: Jamestown Art Center: Blanc de Blanc, Jamestown RI. Curators Nezka Pfeifer, Rita Reamer. 

2016: Stephen McLaughlan Gallery, Curated by Stephen Wickham. Melborne, Victoria, Australia; July: Invitational. 

2016: Artspace 64 Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center New York, New York. Invitational. 

2016: Elizabeth Stone Harper Gallery, Harper Center for the Arts; Art in America on Tour. Clinton, SC. Presbyterian College, Invitational. 

2015-16: Dimmitt Contemporary; Houston, Texas. Group exhibition Dec-May. Invitational. 

2015-16: Amy Simon Fine Art: An Exhibition with No Title, Westport, CT. Dec.-Jan. Invitational. 

.2015: Artist Run at the Satellite Show Miami; Miami, FL, ‘Art in America’ exhibition, Curated by Julie Torres, December. 

2015-16: SpotteArt, NY, NY. Online Boutique for Contemporary Art and Design. 

2015: Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI: Water, juried exhibition, juror: Dina Deitsch, April. 

2015: Artspace 64, NY, NY: Vantage Points. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center March 2015-March 2016, Invitational. 

2015: The Vets Gallery Space, Providence RI; Transparencies, curators Judith Tolnick Champa, Uli Brahmst: April: Invitational. 

2015: The New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain CT, curated by Sharon Butler, January. 

2014-15: Gebert Contemporary, Scottsdale Arizona: group exhibition. Invitational. 

2014: The Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn NY. Small Works Salon Exhibition, curated by Shawn James, October. 

2014: Memorial Sloan Kettering, Brooklyn NY. Reflections; curated by Sarah Campbell, September Invitational. 

2014: The Hoxie Gallery, Hera 40th Anniversary Exhibition. Westerly, RI: Invitational. 

2014: Artspace 64, NY, NY. Fresh Air. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. March 2014-March 2015. Invitational. 

2014: Hera Gallery, Wakefield, RI. Landscape at the edge: Contemporary views. April–May National juried show, juror; Michele L’Heureux Wheaton College, Brandeis University. 

2014: The Chazan Gallery at The Wheeler School, Providence RI, with Susan Doyle, Joan Wygand. October-November. 

2014: Green Space at T.F Green Airport. Warwick RI, Public Art and Stipend: January-April 2014. Jurors; Ellen McBreen; Wheaton College, Victoria Lichtendorf Storm King Art Center, Sam Duket; artist. 

2013: RISCA Fellowship Exhibition, Jamestown, RI. February 14-March 9, Jamestown Art Center, Invitational. 

2004: Works on Paper: Providence, RI The Chazen Gallery. 

2003: Beneath the Surface: Rock, Paper, Threads. The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery, Fall River, MA. Bristol Community College. Invitational. 

2002: Emerging Artists: The Wheeler Gallery, Providence, RI. 

2002: Compulsion: West Kingstown, RI, Courthouse Center for the Arts. Invitational. 

2002: Faculty Exhibitions: Bristol, RI Roger Williams University. 

2003 

2002: Juried group show: Wakefield, RI The Hera Gallery. 

2000 Evolutions: Iowa City, Iowa Arbor Gallery, with Titus Heagins, Olabayo Olianiyi, Gek Choo Yeo. Catalogue. 

1999: Locating Place: Iowa City, IA. Collaboration with David Dunlap and Howard Rogdovan. The Byron Burford Gallery, Invitational. 

1998: Regional Show: The Reservoir Space, Iowa City, IA. University of Iowa. Invitational. 

1998: The Home Show: Iowa City, IA. The Reservoir Space, Curatorial project. University of Iowa. 

1996: The Sarah Doyle Gallery: Providence, RI. Juried painting exhibition. Brown University. 

1996: The Native Gallery: Providence, RI Juried painting exhibition. Invitational. 

1995: Bannister Gallery: Providence, RI, Juried painting exhibition. Rhode Island College. 

Art Fairs: 

Dallas Art Fair: with William Campbell Contemporary; Fort Worth, Texas. April, 2022. 

Intersect Palm Springs Art Fair: with Marquee Projects, Palm Springs, CA. February, 2022. 

Dallas Art Fair: with William Campbell Contemporary; Fort Worth, Texas. November, 2021. 

Art Miami, 30th Anniversary: with Pentimenti Gallery, Dec 3-8 2019. 

Dallas Art Fair: with William Campbell Contemporary; Fort Worth, Texas. April 2019, 2018. 

Bergamo Arte Fiera: with Morotti Arte Contemporanea, January 2019 

Pulse Contemporary Art Fair: with Pentimenti Gallery, December 2018 

Art Market San Francisco: with Cordesa Fine Art and Muriel Guepin Gallery. April 2018. 

Scope Basel, with Thomas Punzmann Gallery, Michelle Benoit, Michael Fiesler and Brad Howe, June 13-18 2017 

Affordable Art Fair AFF, Morotti Arte Contemporanea, Brussels, 2017, 2018, 2019 Catalogue 

Art Verona – 13th edition, Morotti Arte Contemporanea, Verona, Italy, October 13-16, 2017, 2018 Catalogue 

Lucca Art Fair: Morotti Arte Contemporanea, Stand E1 Lucca, Italy, May 5, 2017 Catalogue 

EARTHWORKS AND SITE SPECIFIC WORKS: 

2000: Sand Drawing, Drawing Sand: Warwick, RI, Earthwork; Conimicut Point. 

2000: Light and Shadow a Drawing: Warwick, RI. Willard Street. 

2000: Closet: Installation. Warwick, RI. Willard Street. 

 

 

HONORS AND AWARDS:

Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation: Artist Resource Trust Grant 2013.

Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, Merit Fellowship in Painting 2013.

Honorarium: Roger Williams University School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation, 2002.

Stipend: The Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery at the Bristol Community College, 2003.

Iowa Arts Fellowship: School of Art and Art History and the Graduate College. Full Tuition and stipend

award 1997- 2000.

Teaching Assistantships: School of Art and Art History, The University of Iowa. Awards 1999 and 2000.

Special Talent Award: Art Center, Rhode Island College. Scholarship in Fine Arts 1994, 1993, and 1992.

ARTICLES, REVIEW AND PUBLICATION:

Publication; Art Voices: 101 Contemporary Artists; Book, February 2016.

David Sepulveda; Sculptures Make Bulletproof Memories: The New Haven Independent March 15,

2016.

Bill Van Siclen; Exhibit Lights up Vets Gallery: Providence Journal April 23, 2015

Alexander Castro; Sweetness and Light; Newport Daily News; April 14, 2015.

Deborah Ross; Editorial Recommendations; Visual Art Source; March 21-June 20 2015.

Greg Cook; RISCA Fellowship Show, The Providence Phoenix, Feb. 2013.

Bill Van Siclen, “At Fall River gallery, They Get It On Paper”. Providence Journal Bulletin, Providence, RI

March 2003.

Bill Van Siclen, “Art Wrap Up” Providence Journal, Providence, RI, Jan. 1996.

JUROR:

2015: Connecticut Artist Fellowship Program, mixed media category, Connecticut