“I am very inspired by the works of artists during the 15th to 17th centuries, especially the Dutch and Italian masters. There is something very romantic, dark, rich, mysterious, and brooding about these works.”
Gavin Benjamin is a multifaceted artist who combines original analog photography and appropriated images with collage, paint, and varnish to create rich and luxurious works that call back to baroque traditions while incorporating elements of current culture to provoke, critique, and explore.
Born in Guyana, South America and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Benjamin received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. During this time, he worked as an interned for the legendary portrait photographer, Arnold Newman. Benjamin also worked as black and white and color printer at LTI and Baboo color labs. From there, he went on to work at Edge Reps and Exposure NY, agencies representing commercial and advertising photographers, prop stylists, and hair and makeup artists. After Exposure NY, he worked as a freelance production coordinator/photo editor with stints at Kenneth Cole productions, Esquire Magazine, Hachette Filipacchi Media, and Good Housekeeping magazine.
“I am very inspired by the work of artists during the 15th to 17th centuries, especially the Dutch and Italian masters. There is something very romantic, dark, mysterious, and brooding about these works. I find this period fascinating because of the deep, luxurious colors and intense light and dark shadows. I am drawn to the juxtaposition of objects and compositions that come together to tell a story”
Benjamin investigates the intersection of culture, media, politics, fashion, and design, addressing questions that (continue to) confront a men of color in America today.
“My work reflects everything that I’m thinking – it includes everything that I love and everything that I’m challenged by. It’s honest and curious and bright and thoughtful. And sometimes a little dark. It’s all of the things that made me want to be a professional artist in the first place.”
His work has appeared at the Slick Paris, Sotheby’s NY, Architectural Digest Home Design Show, Art Hampton, Affordable Art Fair, Scope Miami, Palm Beach Modern, Context Miami, Context NY, Art Silicon Valley, and the LA Art Fair.
EDUCATION
B.F.A. in Photography, School of Visual Arts, New York City, NY, USA 1989–1993
Apprenticeship with portrait Photographer Arnold Newman, New York City 1990–1991
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020–21 Downtown Renown: Pittsburgh Sports Greats, Presented by the Pittsburgh Downtown
Partnership, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2020 Heads of State, BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburgh
2016 Spring Lurks Like Snakes Under Flowers, Artists Image Resource (AIR), Pittsburgh
2011 Legacy, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris, FRANCE
Slick Paris, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris
2009–10 It might as well be Spring, Jonathan Burden LLC, New York City
2008 Thrillers and Flowers, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris
2007 Double Feature, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Food Justice, Society of Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh
2020 11th Year Anniversary Exhibition, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ, USA
ASPIRE HOUSE PRINCETON, Parlor Gallery, Aspire Design and Home Magazine, Princeton, NJ, USA
Darkest Before Dawn: Art in a Time of Uncertainty, Ethan Cohen Kube, Beacon, NY, USA
Wallpaper Diaries, Strohl and Fowler-Kellogg Art Centers, Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua, NY, USA
2019 AD ART Show, MvVO Art, Oculus at the Westfield World Trade Center, New York City
Aqua Art Miami beach, BoxHeart Gallery, Miami, FL, USA
Current, Zynka Gallery, Pittsburgh
LA Art Show, BoxHeart Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Orange Crush, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park
2018 AD ART Show, MvVO Art, Sotheby’s New York, New York City
Strohl and Fowler-Kellogg Art Centers, Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua
2017 Art Aspen, Cindy Lisica Gallery, Aspen, CO, USA
Austin Art Fair, Cindy Lisica Gallery, Austin, TX, USA
Fine Wind, Clear Morning, Cindy Lisica Gallery, Houston,TX, USA
Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, Connect Contemporary, Palm Beach, FL, USA
Sarika Goulatia & Gavin Benjamin: Connect, Cohen and Grigsby Gallery, Zynka Gallery
2016 Architectural Digest Home + Design Show, Connect Contemporary, New York City
Context Art Miami, Connect Contemporary, Miami
Context Art New York, Connect Contemporary, New York City
2014 34th Annual Photography Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT, USA
Art Hamptons, Lawrence Cantor Fine Art, Bridgehampton, NY, USA
Pittsburgh Biennial, Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
Scope Miami Beach, Lawrence Cantor Fine Art, Miami
2013 33th Annual Members Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan
Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris
2012 2nd MADA New Media Festival, Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Miami
Living Room, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris
2011 Best of Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh
Legacy, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris
Slick Paris, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris
2006 Flowers Gone Wild, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh
Pinch Hitters, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh
Well Hung Chandeliers, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh
2005 Gestures, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh
Media Tonic 2, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Pittsburgh
2001 Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh
1993 School of Visual Arts Mentor Show, Art Directors Club, New York City
1992 School of Visual Arts Mentor Show, Art Directors Club, New York City
1990 School of Visual Arts Gallery, New York City
1988 Scholastic, New York City
1987 Lever House, New York City
NYS Media Arts, Albany, NY, USA
Scholastic, New York City
Museum of Albany, Albany
Soho Photo Gallery, New York City
1986 Soho Photo Gallery, New York City
NYS Media Arts, Albany
ADDITIONAL CREATIVE PROJECTS
Current Board Member & Programming Committee, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh
2020 Creative Director, FREE TO BE ME: A Portrait Series Celebrating Black Girls, Presented
by FASHION AFRICANA, O’Reilly Theatre, Pittsburgh
2016 Collaborator on set design and Costumes of THE WIZ LIVE!: The work of Paul Tazewell,
Presented by FASHION AFRICANA, August Wilson African American Cultural Center,
Pittsburgh
1989–92 Photographic Printer, LTI Labs, New York City
SELECTED ARTICLES AND REVIEWS
2020 Joanne Klimovich Harrop, “See artwork of Pittsburgh sports icons in Downtown window
displays,” Tribune–Review, 24 October 2020.
Kristy Locklin, “14 local sports figures are now works of art in Downtown Renown,”
NEXTPittsburgh, 21 October 2020.
2007 Mary Thomas, “TRAF Exhibition puts its Best Foot Forward,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7
June 2007.
2006 Mary Thomas, “Flowers Gone Wild at Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7 June
2006.
Kurt Shaw, “Ethereal combinations,” Tribune–Review, 12 January 2006.
2005 Kurt Shaw, “Site-specific exhibition makes good use of Mattress Factory’s Fourth Floor,”
Tribune–Review, 23 June 2005.