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BENINI
Benini’s exhibition career started with a
one-man show in Milan, Italy in 1961. During his late teens and early 20’s,
Benini painted landscapes and still lifes in a traditional style. By
1965, his painting evolved into large-scale,
monochromatic renderings of the
human figure.
From the mid-1970’s, he alternated large-scale
representations of the rose and dream-like paintings with strong symbolist
content. During the mid-1980’s, Benini’s work took a sharp turn toward
geometry and the mathematical sciences.
In this series, Benini created paintings with a highly
disciplined technique, requiring up to 20 layers of acrylic paint applied by
brush, giving
a glow to pigments transforming familiar geometric and organic shapes into
lyrical canvases that, stretched over flat aluminum, hang inches from the
wall, creating the feeling of dimension.
In 2003, in Texas, Benini began his Courting Kaos Series, with a different application that combined
his hand-blended backgrounds
and selectively dropped acrylics in highly controlled patterns,
that are now evolving into large-scale pieces..
These paintings, related to Italian Baroque and
Rococo art, as well as the simple elegance of Islamic pattern art, have
evolved into space age imagery.
To date, Benini has had 160 one-man exhibitions, primarily in universities,
public institutions and museums.
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In 1999, Benini and his wife Lorraine purchased
140 acres in the Texas Hill Country that have been turned into The Benini Galleries and Sculpture Ranch which includes the residence, guesthouse and
a 14000 sq. ft. Studios Building with offices and galleries, as well as the studios
where Benini paints through the night - and a fine
arts library.
On the surrounding hilly, Mediterranean-like landscape,
national and international sculptors are placing large-scale contemporary
works. A website is devoted to this project where 110 large-scale sculptures
are featured by contemporary artists from around the country and abroad.
Click here to learn more about the
Benini Sculpture Ranch.
Through the years, Benini has also produced a number of assemblages, that he
calls divertimenti. Varying in size from a few inches to 15 feet,
these divertimenti are built with different materials: wood, steel, stone and
more recently, granite.
This project is open Thursday through Sunday, from 10 to 6. Other days by
appointment. For tours and large groups, please call ahead. |
