Joan Benefiel
Artist Joan Benefiel (b.1974) makes expressive gestural sculptures that are inspired by the human figure in motion and dramatic natural landscapes. Joan has lived and worked in New York City since 1999, receiving her first monumental public art commission in 2005 while earning her MFA from the New York Academy of Art. Joan’s practice is committed to the continuous growth of her sculptural style in plans for new, inclusive works of art designed for spaces that are fully accessible to the public. To bring her ideas to life, she founded Figuration L.L.C. in 2008 in Brooklyn. In collaboration with
Partner Jeremy Leichman, the studio is known for its expertise in both traditional and cutting-edge sculpture materials and methods.
For more than a decade prior, she managed bronze sculpture foundries after mastering the art of lost wax casting as a production technician in the late 90’s. Today, Joan is interested in exploring the narrative power of simple human gesture and building engaging choreographies of light, color, movement, and shadow. She achieves this through her innovative process honed over many years that blends ancient and state-of-the art sculpting, carving, molding, and enlarging techniques resulting in unusual pieces
that are at once contemporary and timeless. She begins by hand-building her original forms in clay, plaster, and wax, ultimately enlarging, and casting them in translucent resin, bronze, or steel. Joan counts the towering Hoodoo rocks of Utah as a primary influence, appreciating the challenge they present in discerning where rock ends and figures appear to begin. She creates a similar relationship in her increasingly abstracted work, leaving viewers wondering if the figures are emerging or disappearing, or even there at all.
Joan’s sculptures have been collected in numerous private collections and installed in a broad range of public spaces across the country from New York City to California. Most recently, her studio won a commission for their design of a monumental new bronze and cement Anne Frank memorial for the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, AR, and for a new Arts District Gateway in the City of Rome, NY, both slated for installation in 2024.
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Holiday Open House
Celebrate the Season with Art! November 22 - December 31, 2024holiday exhibition, holiday gifts, art gifts, art, christmas, joyRead more -
Fall-ing for Art
A Seasonal Group Show October 15 - November 16, 2024Celebrate with us the best of the fall season. On view in this exhibition are paintings and sculpture that embody the hues of this special time of year and harken...Read more -
Holiday Open House
December 2 - 16, 2023Burlingame, CA - As the holiday season unfolds, Studio Shop Gallery is thrilled to announce its much-anticipated Holiday Open House, a celebration of art, community, and seasonal cheer. The event...Read more -
Haute Sculpture
Group Show May 6 - 31, 2021The Haute Sculpture Spring Show features many of The Studio Shop Gallery’s accomplished haute sculpteurs et haute sculptrices , in a variety of mediums and a variety of styles. The...Read more
EDUCATION
2007 New York Academy of Art, MFA
EXHIBITIONS
2024
Sculpture Walk Art Installation; Peoria, IL
Gateway to the Domonick Street Art Walk Commission - winner of national competition to design a new permanent public art sculpture installation; slated for installation in spring 2024; Rome, NY
Sculpture on the Lawn Public Art Installation; Orlando, FL
2023
Clinton Presidential Library Center commission - winner of the international search to create the new Anne Frank memorial sculpture for the Presidential Park; slated for installation in April 2024; Little Rock, AR
New York City Art in the Parks – installation of Hoodoos sculpture in the median; Finn Square Park (Tribeca); New York, NY
2022
Artscape 6 Public Art Exhibition; Fayetteville, NC
18th Annual City of Olathe Downtown Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit; Olathe, KS
Winner of national search to create Dakota Wesleyan’s new campus sculpture to honor the women of Wesleyan, past/present/future; Mitchell, SD
El Paseo Sculpture Exhibition; Palm Desert, CA
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts; Appalachian State University Campus, Boone, NC
Sculpture on the Move; Gladstone, MO
2021
El Paseo Sculpture Exhibition; Palm Desert, CA
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts; Appalachian State University Campus, Boone, NC
Sculpture on the Move; Gladstone, MO
2019-2020
El Paseo Sculpture Exhibition; Palm Desert, CA
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts; Appalachian State University Campus, Boone, NC
Sculpture on the Move; Gladstone, MO
Sculpture Walk Springfield; Springfield, MO
Art on the Streets, Downtown Colorado Springs, CO
2017-2018
Pikes Peak Community College; Colorado Springs, CO; acquisition of “Breathe” for permanent campus display; gift of the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation
Sotheby's Take Home A Nude Auction and New York Academy of Art Benefit; acquisition of “Seaglass Coulée, Study no. 1” to benefit the New York Academy of Art
Art in Public Places; Knoxville, TN; acquisition of “In Stride” for permanent display in the McGhee Tyson Airport sculpture garden
Art on the Streets, Downtown Colorado Springs, CO
Rover Art Show; Starr Space Gallery; Brooklyn, NY
Sculpture Walk Springfield; Springfield, MO
Art Encounters Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Highlands Ranch; Douglas County, CO
2016
Art on the Streets, Downtown Colorado Springs, CO
Art Encounters Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Highlands Ranch; Douglas County, CO
Sculpture Walk Springfield; Springfield, MO
Art Around Town, Public Art Commission; Carbondale, CO
The Arnot Art Museum 75th Regional Juried Exhibition; Elmira, NY
St. Joseph Sculpture Walk; St. Joseph, MO
Rover 2016 Art Show; Starr Space Gallery; Brooklyn, NY
Art on the Lawn Outdoor Sculpture Installation; Rye Arts Center; Rye, NY
2015
Cast In Light: Landscape Reflections solo exhibition; Rye Town Park; Rye, NY
Approaching the Figure Art Exhibition; Studio Shop Gallery; Burlingame, CA
National Museum of Women in the Arts – The Showcase Collection of Small Works; Washington D.C.
Treasures from the Vault; Island Weiss Gallery; New York, NY
Selected as New York’s Figure50.com’s represented artist
Brooklyn Fire Proof Gallery group show for Bushwick Open Studios; Brooklyn, NY
2014
Public art installation & solo sculpture exhibition at Distrikt Hotel, sponsored by the Garment District Arts Program; New York, NY
Holiday House Art & Design Exhibition; New York, NY
ArtHamptons Contemporary Art Fair at Nova’s Ark Sculpture Park; Bridgehampton, NY
"Breathe" Large-Scale Sculpture Engineering & Production, sponsored by Smooth-on, Inc; Brooklyn, NY
DOCUMENTARIES
Creating a Large Resin Sculpture, A Documentary by Smooth-on, Inc., documenting the creation of Joan Benefiel’s 10-foot tall “Breathe” sculpture at her studio, Figuration LLC, in Brooklyn, NY
In His Image, a documentary by Fairfield University documenting the creation of Examen Statues by artist team Joan Benefiel & Jeremy Leichman
SELECT PRESS
2017
Fox News; New Statue installed on Pikes Peak Community College downtown campus
The Gazette; Pikes Peak Community College Foundation acquires Art on the Streets Sculpture
2015
The Rye Record; The Landscape Just Got A Lot More Interesting
2014
Art Business News; listed as one of the Top Emerging Artists for 2014
2012
The New York Times; The Human Form Unleashed
2011
The Wall Street Journal; Figurations: The Fashion Center Pilings Project
The New York Post; Fashionably Nude Sculptures
2010
The Architect’s Newspaper Blog; Full Steam Ahead
www. Artnet.com; Hudson River Pilings Project Maquettes
2009
Flavorwire Exclusive, NYC Sculptor Joan Benefiel’s Hudson River Pilings Project
Brooklyn Modern; Brooklyn Sculptor Unveils The Hudson River Pilings Project
Continental Breakfast; New NYC Temporary Art Installation: Hudson River Pilings Project
Cool Hunting; Hudson River Pilings Project Review
HOW Journal, Issue #4; Hudson River Pilings Project
2005
The New York Times; At Last, A Monument to Vietnam Veterans