Area of Research: Sculpture
Undergraduate Institution: University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Place of Birth: chicago, Illinois
Since his childhood in Chicago, Paul Stephen Benjamin has been crafting art from unconventional materials. Today, such items as tarpaper, house paint and crushed coal are some of the materials the artist utilizes in his practice. Delving into painting, collage, sculpture, soft sculpture and video, Benjamin bases his choice of medium on the concepts he wishes to express. Motivated by a passion for creating, for uniting and repurposing things, the artist is driven by his desire to explore the deeper implications of his materials. An overarching theme of his work is the repetition of the letters a-b-c-l-k, which are represented quite literally through Benjamin’s paintings on tar and brown paper, but also implicated in the images scrolling in his video installations. Hinting at the deeper implications of history and identity, Benjamin purposely abstains from revealing the “punch line” because he is interested in how viewers engage with the work. The culmination of one’s personal experiences is a continuation of the artistic process for Benjamin. Whether one simply appreciates the lushness of the materials and colors, or reaches beyond the tangible to grasp the conceptual underpinnings, it is impossible not to be captivated by Benjamin’s artistry.
-JG
Paul Stephen Benjamin
AaBbCcKkLl, 2012, Video
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