Will Benedict

Artist biography

Will Benedict is is an established, mid-career contemporary artist, who was born and brought up in the United States, like other renowned artists such as Thomas Kovachevich, Cady Noland, Jamie Jacobs, Richard Kern, and Paul T. Sargent. Will Benedict was born in 1978.

About Will Benedict's works

Will Benedict's work is characteristic of the fields of Abstraction, Conceptual and Minimalism. Abstraction, in essence terms, means distancing or suppressing one thing from another. When it comes to the visual arts, it can be understood as creating an artwork which moves away from a true representational reference point. The movement was born in the early 20th century, and can be seen as an attempt to release the artist’s creative energy, through freedom and constant self-renewal. In abstract artworks, the object is schematised, with the use of colours and textures, thus creating a fundamentally new idea of reality. Abstract art can be traced back to Impressionism, and paved the way for a significant number of movements, including Cubism, Surrealism, or Abstract Expressionism, which is still considered to be one the most powerful contemporary art movements. Some critically acclaimed artists renowned for their contribution to Abstraction include Wassily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, or Pablo Picasso.

Emerging as an art movement in the 1960s, Conceptualism has attracted a significant amount of controversy and debate, usually provoking intense reactions in its audience. Conceptual art by essence implies that the idea behind the actual artwork is more important than the finished product itself. The research and strategies conducted by the artist represent the most important part of the work, conceptual art thus aims to be an art of the mind, instead of appealing to the senses. Although it refers to art from the mid 1960s to the mid 1970s, the origins of Conceptualism can be traced back to 1917, with Marcel Duchamp and his polemical artwork Fontaine, which tried to erase the boundaries between art and reality. Conceptual art is not as straightforward as other movements, as it uses an interdisciplinary approach, and the productions can take the form of anything - from everyday objects to performances requiring audience participation.

Minimalism is an art movement which emerged in New York city in the post World War II era, its essence emanating from a inherent longing to escape the pre-existing conceptions about art, and make artwork flourish in its own reality rather than just ressemble life. Recognised as one of the most influential art movements of the 1960s, minimalism sought to escape from abstract expressionism, which was the dominant genre in the late 1950s. The founders of Minimalism were deeply influenced by European abstract movements, and works by the Dutch De Stijl artists, Russian Constructivists, as well as members of the German Bauhaus, which had laid the groundwork for radical abstraction. Some of the most significant artists of Minimalism include Frank Stella, Dan Flavin and Donald Judd. Honesty and modesty are among some of the key elements in Minimalism, which finds its core in a blank of emotional responses or metaphorical elements. Geometrical shapes and sleek, pure lines are bringing to life artworks that will grant the viewers with strong visual responses, but its purpose is not to inspire emotions, nor to reflect the artist's own expression and feelings. Minimalist artists were tired of the gestural elements found to previous art movements, and wanted remove any elements that would suggest self-expressionism. As Frank Stella said, the essence of Minimalism is that "you see what you see".

Galleries and Exhibitions

Will Benedict is represented and exhibited by several galleries around the world, in countries such as Italy, the United States, and Germany. The galleries exhibiting Will Benedict's work include Galerie Meyer Kainer in Vienna, dépendance in Brussels, as well as Giò Marconi in Milan. Will Benedict most recent exhibition recorded on Artland was at dépendance in Brussels (29 May 2019 until 12 July 2019) with the exhibition A Womb with a View. Will Benedict's other most recent exhibitions recorded on Artland include the exhibitions; cafe spit (12 October 2019 - 20 December 2019) at galeriepcp in Paris and On the Backlot (26 July 2019 - 19 September 2019) at Balice Hertling | Rue Saint-Martin in Paris.

One of Will Benedict's work is curently for sale on Artland.

Will Benedict in private collections

On Artland Will Benedict's works can be found in the following collection: Romain Leclere which, for instance, also has works by other prominent and critically acclaimed artists including Sarah Derat, Marie Kølbæk Iversen, and Liam Fallon.

Historical Context of United States

The US, particularly New York city, endures as a focal point that has played a substantial role in developing modern and contemporary art in the twentieth century. The concept of New York as a new multinational and highly powerful art centre came to be in the post war era, and the city succeeded in affirming its dominance over Paris, which used to be considered as the most powerful international art centre. The predominance of the political and economic institutions of the United States in the modern sphere has granted the country with a powerful influence on the visual culture of the world. Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Neo-Expressionism, Graffiti and Street Art, are essential art movements that emerged in the US. These very movements also echoed into a multitude of variations, such as diverse forms of Abstract Expressionism, as well as East and West Coast adaptations of Pop Art, among others. Some internationally distinguished U.S artists of the contemporary period age include Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, Donald Judd, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Julian Schnabel, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.

Further Biographical Context for Will Benedict

Born in 1978, Will Benedict's creative work was largely influenced by the 1980s. The 1980s were a turbulent time culturally, and were marked by growing global capitalism, global mass media, significant discrepancies in wealth, alongside a distinctive sense of music and fashion, epitomised by electronic pop music and hip hop. Artists growing up during this time were heavily influenced by this cultural culture. The 1980s were a key decade in terms of politics, marked by the African Famine and the end of the Cold War, which was signified by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Neo Geo and The Pictures Generation became prominent art movements during the decade, alongside Neo-Expressionism which became well-known in Germany, France and Italy (where it was known as Transavanguardia). Artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Jörg Immendorf, Enzo Cucchi, Francesco Clemente and Julian Schnabel were leading artists of the era, alongside Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, who established the street art and graffiti movements.