Manfredi Beninati
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Manfredi Beninati is an Italian artist born in Palermo (Sicily) in 1970. He first started studying law to then switch to film courses in the early 90s while working as an assistant director in the Italian film industry. In 1994 he moved to London where he started working as a visual artist. In 2005 he was selected as one of four artists to represented his country at the 51 Venice Biennale where he received the audience award for the Italian pavilion. In 2006 he was given a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome as part of the Rome Prize. He currently lives and works in Palermo, Rome and Los Angeles and is represented by James Cohan Gallery in New York and Galleria Lorcan O'Neill in Rome. The artist works elaborate, through drawings, oil colours and installations, fragments of an inner world, with literary and artistic references.
Beninati is part of the younger generation of painters, and he makes pictures in a style that plugs right into the international contemporary aesthetic. He is the kind of artist who a lot of younger people could identify with. His paintings are loose and washy figurative dreamscapes that make the viewer feel as if there’s a thick gauze on the surface of the painting and a story book world floating behind it.
In Beninati’s uncanny vision, natural elements penetrate interior spaces in lyric images that transport the viewer into new aesthetic terrain. The artist’s sensitive use of the materials fosters the visual ease essential to those who experience his ephemeral images. These works elicit a fantasy world where man-made places are combined with natural forms, to provide an escape into an arena of sensuous harmony.
The otherworldly nature of this Sicilian artist's soft focus dreamscapes is reminiscent of a childhood of fairytales. Beninati's figurative works reflect a state of innocence that exists behind the subtlety of pastels and candy colours. His paintings depicting children surrounded by flora and fauna seen through layers of light and softly applied colour have been described as "somewhere between Bosch, Renoir and Thomas Kinkead".
Solo Shows
2007
- “La lettera "f"”, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy
- “Flavio and Palermo (in the summer) ”, James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA
- "A Flavio", Museo Laboratorio, Città Sant'Angelo (PE), Italy
2006
- “Manfredi Beninati”, Galeria Braga Menendez, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2005
- “Drawing cabinet”, FPAC, Palermo, Italy
- “Rescued works”, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome, Italy
- “New Paintings”, James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA
2003
- “Manfredi Beninati”, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome, Italy
Group Shows
2008
- "Liverpool Biennial", Liverpool, U.K.
- "Sand", Parrish Museum, Southampton (NY), U.S.A.
- "Quadriennale di Roma", Palazzo delle esposizioni, Rome, Italy
- "Mediterranean contemporary art", Perna Foundation, Capri, Italy
- "Imaginary Realities ...", Max Wigram Gallery, London,U.K.
- "Dream Therapy", Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, U.S.A.
- "Passed as present", York Art Gallery, York, U.K.
2007
- "Summer Show", James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA
- "Arte italiana 1968-2007. Pittura", Palazzo Reale, Milano, Italy
- "The end begins", The Hospital, London, UK
- “Detour“, The Art Directors Club, New York, USA
- “Open Studios“, American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy
2006
- “Negotiating reality“, Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, University of Denver, Denver, USA
- “C’era una volta un re...”, Arcos Museo, Benevento, Italy
- “Figuring the landscape”, Contemporary Art Galleries, Storrs (Ct), USA
2005
- "Altmejd, Beninati, Everberg et Margolis", Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
- “12 painters”, Galleria In Arco, AB+, Turin, Italy
- Padiglione Venezia at Giardini, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2004
- “Between the lines”, James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA
- “Expander”, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK
- “Summer show”, Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome, Italy
- “Wall Paper”, GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy
2003
- “Dirty pictures”, The Approach Gallery, London, UK
- “Quadriennale di Roma-Anteprima”, Palazzo Reale, Naples, Italy
- “Roma 2003”, Galleria Pack, Milan, Italy
- “Le collezioni – Recenti acquisizioni”, MAXXI – Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy
2002
- “Www.plot@rt”, Rome, Italy
Awards
2006
- Rome Prize , American Academy in Rome
2005
- Darc Prize for young Italian art
- Audience award – Italian pavilion, 51 Venice biennale
Selected Bibliography
- Julie Cirelli, "Manfredi Beninati", in Tema Celeste, July/August 2007
- Laura Barreca, "Manfredi Beninati: the painter of dreamland", in NYarts, Sept/October 2007
- Gianluca Marziani, "The eden of memories", in Numèro Beautè, July/August 2007
- Mary Hrbacek, "Manfredi Beninati: Flavio and Palermo", in NYarts, May/June 2007
- Norma Mangione, "Artist on a bet - Interview with Manfredi Beninati", in UOVO #13, May 2007
- E. S., "Parallel Worlds", in Domus, May 2007
- Franco Speroni, "Manfredi Beninati, Giuseppe Stamponi" in Extrart, April 2007
- "Goings On About Town: Manfredi Beninati", in The New Yorker, 13 March 2007
- Roberta Smith, "Manfredi Beninati at James Cohan Gallery", in The New York Times, March 2007
- R. C. Baker, "Best in show: Manfredi Beninati", in The Village Voice, February 2007
- Susanna Bianchini, Arcos: C'era una volta un re..., in Teknemedia, Ottobre 2006
- C'era una volta un re... - Manfredi Beninati, exhibition catalogue, October 2006
- Matthew J. Westerby, "Negotiating Reality", Exhibition catalog, September 2006
- Figuring the landscape at Contemporary Art Galleries, in ArtDaily, Sept.2006
- Lisa Paul Streitfeld, Landscape with a difference – A mesmerizing, surprising exhibition by eight artists at Uconn Galleries, in Art Review, sept. 2006
- Francesco Stocchi, "Manfredi Beninati", in Flash Art n.259, Aug/Sept. 2006
- Francesco Stocchi, "Manfredi Beninati", in Flash Art n.259, Aug/Sept. 2006
- Nicholas Cullinan, "Manfredi Beninati", in Contemporary Annual
- Tobias Verlende, "La Biennale", in NY Arts, Jan/Feb 2006
- Jonathan Turner, "Reviews: Manfredi Beninati", in ARTnews n.10, Nov. 2005
- Nicholas Cullinan, "Manfredi Beninati", in Tema Celeste n.112, Nov/Dec. 2005
- Francesco Stocchi, "Manfredi Beninati" ,in Art Forum, Sept. 2005
- Elena del Drago, "L'arte penetra nell'emotività domestica", in Il Manifesto, 28 Aug. 2005
- Thomas Wulffen, "Die aktuelle Zeitschrift für alle Bereiche der Bildenden Kunst", Kunstforum International, 2005
- Marcello Smarrelli, "Reviews: Manfredi Beninati", in Flash Art, Jul/Aug 2005
- Javier Hotoria, "Las naciones del arte. 51 bienal de Venecia:Pabellones", in El Mundo (El cultural), 16-22 June 2005
- Pier Paolo Pancotto, "La memoria sottotraccia nelle sculture di Beninati",in L'Unità, 3 June 2005
- Silvia Pegoraro, "I misteri fiabeschi di Manfredi Beninati", in Il Messaggero, 2 June 2005
- Paolo Colombo, "Quattro opere per il MAXXI", Venice Biennale catalogue, Ed. Electa 2005
- Ludovico Pratesi, "Fuga dalla realtà, Venice Biennale catalogue", Ed. Electa 2005
- Mariuccia Casadio, "Grow a mushroom", in Vogue Italia, Sept.2005
- Beatrice Buscaroli, "Generazione invisibile", Venice Biennale catalogue, Ed. Electa 2005
- Lavinia Filippi, "Manfredi Beninati", in Exibart on Paper, Mar. 2005
- JJ Charlesworth, "After the Flood". In “Expander”. Catalogue. London, 2004
- Laura Barreca, "Expander alla Royal academy of Art di Londra", in Arte e Critica, n. 40 Oct/Dec. 2004
- Riccardo Notte, "Tra senso e sensorio". In “XIV Esposizione Quadriennale d’Arte di Roma. Anteprima”, De Luca Editore, 2004
- Gianluca Marziani, "Uno sguardo oltre la modernità", in Lo Specchio de La Stampa, 10 Jan. 2004
- Laura Barreca, "Generazione lo(w)-fi. Artisti italiani a “bassa fedeltà”", in Arte e Critica, n. 38 Apr/June 2004
- Beatrice Buscaroli, "Un’anteprima di pittori e di pittura", Il domenicale, 4 Mar. 2004
- Emilia Giorgi, "Manfredi Beninati", in “Le Collezioni. Acquisizioni di arte contemporanea. MAXXI”, 2003
- Patrizia Ferri, "Manfredi Beninati", in Flash Art, Aug/Sept. 2003
- Lea Mattarella, "La quadriennale si veste di nuovo e si divide per tre", in La stampa, 14 Nov. 2003
- Pier Paolo Pancotto, "Manfredi Beninati, Ricordi soffusi di paesaggi", in L’Unità, 20 Jul. 2003
- Gianluca Marziani, "Manfredi Beninati plasma l’arte sul tavolo da cucina", in La Stampa - Roma, 28 giugno 2003
- Ludovico Pratesi, "Quelle luci surreali sulle tele di Beninati", in La Repubblica - Roma, 17 Jul. 2003
- Laura Barreca, "Manfredi beninati", in Exibart, June 2003
- Lorcan O’Neill, "Manfredi Beninati", in Dizionario della Giovane Arte Italiana 1, May 2003
- Gianluca Marziani, "Manfredi Beninati", in Catalogo della mostra "Www.plot.@rt". Nov. 2002
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