2020 Faculty Biennial Profile: Kim Benson

Meet the artists of the 2020 MCAD Faculty Biennial.

My process has become a type of chaos management. I strive to create a painting that plays with the viewer’s comprehension of space, form, and illusion through complicating the visual pathways. At the core I am a materialist, continually fascinated with the processes of painting. I utilize a myriad of different techniques including brushing, spraying, sanding, scraping, rubbing, scratching, printing, relief, and rolling. I am also interested in the history of painting. Current themes running through my work are the 17th-century Dutch still-life genre, particularly the vanitas genre for its array of metaphorical significance and formal configurations, secondly, the idea of decay, as in compost or erosion, and how a painting can reference both of these qualities as potential symbols of passage of time and transformation, and lastly, lace floral patterns for their inherent duality between form (structure) and negative space (openings). Although these themes might seem disparate, they are rooted deep within my own personal exploration of abstraction and I enjoy both the compatibilities and the conflicts within my work.

About Kim Benson

Kim Benson received her MFA from the University of WI-Madison and a BFA from the College of Visual Arts in St. Paul, MN. Her paintings have been exhibited widely in both solo and group shows, including MANA Contemporary in Chicago, IL; Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, WI; Plains Art Museum in Fargo, ND; Bockley Gallery and HAIR+NAILS in Minneapolis, MN; and Brooklyn, NY. She has attended residencies at Adams State University in Alamosa, CO; McCanna House through the North Dakota Museum of Art in Grand Forks, ND; and Jentel Foundation in Banner, WY. She is an adjunct professor in the Fine Arts Department at MCAD. Benson plans to attend a residency at La Macina di San Cresci in Tuscany, Italy early 2021 and has an upcoming solo show expected October 2020 at HAIR+NAILS in Minneapolis.