Paul Benney is a British artist who rose to international prominence as a contemporary artist whilst living and working in New York in the 1980's and later in the 90's in the UK as an award-winning portraitist. Benney’s work is held in the 20th century collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Brooklyn Museum, The National Portrait Gallery in London, The National Gallery of Australia, and many prominent corporate and private collections around the world. Both Paul Benney’s portraiture and contemporary work have been featured on the BBC and Channel 4. He exhibited his multimedia installation, “Speaking in Tongues” during the 57th Venice Art Biennale in 2017. A a self-taught painter, he moved to New York in 1982 and was member of the N.Y. downtown Neo-Expressionist group in the 1980's. He was first taken by the P.P.O.W. Gallery in 1984 where he created immense monochromatic painting depicting mysterious dream imagery with surfaces built up of layers feather twigs, dirt and gel. Benney’s East village contemporaries while living in New York included Kiki Smith, David Wojnarowicz, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Ross Bleckner, Richard Hambleton, Adam Fuss and Craig Coleman. Benney moved back to the United Kingdom in 1988 where his portrait practice grew rapidly by word of mouth. He has since exhibited in eight BP Portrait Award Exhibitions and twice won the BP Visitors’ Choice Award in 1996 and 1997 and received a commendation for the portrait My Daughters in 1999. In 2003 Benney was commissioned by the Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery to paint Jack Dellal in recognition of his support of the gallery.
Paul Benney
Studios
Adams
Paul Benney worked in the Adams studio.
Given to the MacDowell Association by Margaret Adams of Chicago, the half-timbered, stuccoed Adams Studio was designed by MacDowell Fellow and architect F. Tolles Chamberlin ca. 1914. Chamberlin was primarily a painter, but also provided designs for the Lodge and an early renovation of the main hall. The studio’s structural integrity was restored during a thorough renovation in…