Michelle Benoit

Michelle Benoit is prospering in the middle of her career, when many artists seem to stagnate. Benoit is a true role model for artists at all stages of their lives.

She has found a way to live by working incessantly and experimenting on a regular basis, and she has received some excellent advice, support, and mentoring along the way.

Benoit has had a successful career in college teaching since graduating with her MFA and MA from the University of Iowa in 2000. However, in 2008, she was forced to take time off due to health concerns, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Benoit's exclusive focus on her art helped it to flourish and attract the attention of galleries and collectors.

Benoit began her undergraduate career as a painting and printmaking student, but she has always had a knack for sculpting. Layers of paper, wax, and Plexiglas were employed in the artist's early work. Painting Plexiglas strips with brilliant acrylics and encaustic paints, then laminating them, evolved from this. Benoit began her studies as a non-objective painter, but as she progressed through graduate school, her concentration shifted to personal tales. As a result, Benoit initiated a "archaeological dig," excavating a highly distinct color language. She used colors that are related with layers of memories from her own life, which she rearranges in the process of creating her work as if she were rearranging memories from her own life.

Career
Morotti Arte Contemporanea, Milan, Italy; Thomas Punzmann Gallery, Frankfurt, Germany; Pentimenti Gallery, Philadelphia; and Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, New York are now representing her on a national and international level. She has plans to take it easy for a while, give herself more time to think and explore, and plan her next move. In the back of Benoit's mind, a new body of work is brewing: it may be large-scale, sculptural, black-and-white, or glass and concrete work.

Benoit was also taught to analyze before creating. In her creative work, she has reversed this sequence to great effect. When she works, the artist admits to being a recluse. She's gone with a bulletproof Lucite and translucent color washes interwoven with apple plywood pieces.

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