Kim Benson

Region: Midwest

Website: https://kimbensonart.cargo.site/

City / State: Minneapolis, MN

 My paintings are about complexity. Richly dense, abstract surfaces created through an ouroboric process of sanding, stenciling, and extruding, as well as the more traditional application by brush. References to Renaissance paintings—whether in image or color palette—populate the recent work, establishing a ground for exploration and excavation. The resultant density becomes paradoxically responsible for imbuing the compositions with vibrating luminosity, even as it roots their presence in the material world. Potentially seen as hallucinogenic abstractions, my work can appear solid and sculptural like a stucco wall and at other instances like a gossamer curtain undulating in a soft breeze. A mysterious equation between stone, flesh, façade, and air. Time emerges as a conceit, built through processes of repetition and erasure, suggesting both the ancient and contemporary. I am interested in engaging with the European canon to further understand my own place in its complex history. It is my hope that the paintings metaphorically and materially suggest instability, uncertainty, and a continual desire to discover.