M. Benjamin Herndon
b. 1985
Lives and works in Providence, RI
Graphite, a crystalline form of elemental carbon, has the ability to both absorb and reflect light, essentially containing both lightness and darkness. M. Benjamin Herndon has a conceptual and poetic interest in this metaphor; namely, that a single material can contain both the void and the hope of escaping it.
The material process of his work has evolved gradually over the past several years as he has refined his hand-made graphite paint through continued experimentation. The paintings’ surfaces are slowly built up on canvas with many carefully made, thin coats of paint, which are then selectively and intensively polished to reveal passages of lustrous, reflective silver tones emerging from velvety black fields.
EDUCATION
2016
M.F.A. Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
2012
B.F.A. with Honors, School of Visual Arts, NYC
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020
Materia, Bermel von Luxburg Gallery, Berlin, Germany
2019
Holiday, Labspace, Hillsdale, NY
Grounded, Rule Gallery, Denver, CO
FIELDS: Color, Tone, Vision, Inde / Jacobs Gallery, Marfa, TX
In The Stillness, Freud Monk Gallery, online exhibition
2018
Graphite Paintings, solo exhibition, A R E A, Boston, MA
Selections for Chinati Weekend, Inde / Jacobs Gallery, Marfa, TX
Forms of Expression: Geometric Abstraction, organized by A R E A at The Yard, Boston, MA
Collage II, A R E A, Boston, MA
The Nature Lab, Labspace, Hillsdale, NY
RISD Faculty Exhibition, RISD Museum, Providence, RI
2017
Collage, A R E A, Boston, MA
Art Shenzhen 2017, Art Fair, showing with Tang Contemporary Art, Shenzhen, China
Implicit, Miranda Kuo Gallery, New York, NY
Everlasting, Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Awagami Print Expression, Bumpodo Gallery, Tokyo Japan
2016
Stand Out Prints, Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis, MN
New Contemporaries, Gelman Gallery, RISD Museum, Providence RI
The Glare, curated by Leah Wolff, NARS Foundation, Brooklyn, NY
RISD Graduate Thesis Exhibition, RI Convention Center, Providence RI
Vanishing Point, Former Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ
Sprung, Rabbithole Projects, Brooklyn, NY
New Prints: Winter, International Print Center of New York, NYC
Lasting Impressions, 505 Fletcher, Providence, RI
2015
Sanctus, Curious Matter Gallery, Jersey City, NJ
Language vs. Language, curated by Maya Krinsky, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence RI
Making Meaning, Drift Contemporary Art Gallery, Portsmouth NH
Spring, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence RI
2014
Printmaking Department Triennial, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence RI
2012
Urban Legends, curated by Mollie Thonneson, Seton Hall University School of Law, Newark NJ
Natural, curated by Richard Brooks, SVA Chelsea Gallery, NYC
Material Magic / Print Settings, BFA Fine Arts Department show, SVA Chelsea Gallery, NYC
Itsa Small Small World, curated by Hennessy Youngman, Family Business Gallery, NYC
Affordable Art Fair, School of Visual Arts’ booth, curated by Dan Halm, NYC
BFA Fine Arts Open Studios, School of Visual Arts, NYC
2011
Topophilia, curated by Eric Lendl, SVA Gallery, NYC
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2020
Tamarind Institute, Artist Residency, Albuquerque NM
2019
Rose Museum Emerging Artist Purchase Award Finalist, Brandeis University, Waltham MA
2018
Tamarind Institute, Summer Workshop, Albuquerque NM
2017
Marble House Project Residency, Dorset VT
Josef & Anni Albers Foundation Residency
2016
Vermont Studio Center Residency & Grant
2014-16
RISD Graduate Division Fellowship
2012
School of Visual Arts Alumni Grant
School of Visual Arts Undergraduate Fine Arts Thesis Award
2010-12
Silas H. Rhodes Scholarship
Dean’s List, School of Visual Arts
PUBLICATIONS
2019
freudmonkgallery.com, interview with curator Adam Reid Fox
New England Home, feature by William Morgan, Boston MA
2018
Boston Globe, Critic's Pick, Graphite Paintings at A R E A, by Cate McQuaid
New American Paintings, MFA Annual
Visual Arts Journal, Alumni Spotlight, School of Visual Arts Press, Spring 2018
Art Maze Mag, Winter Issue 6
2017
yngspc.com, interview with curator Kate Mothes
Everlasting (exhibition catalog), Tang Contemporary Art, Beijing, China
Studio Visit Magazine, Volume 38, Open Studios Press
Awagami Print Expression (exhibition catalog), Bumpodo Gallery, Tokyo Japan
2016
Vanishing Point (exhibition catalog), Art House Productions Press, Jersey City, NJ
RISDXYZ, Alumni Magazine, RISD Media Group, Providence, RI
2015
Sanctus (exhibition catalog), Curious Matter Gallery
2012
20 Twenty, curated by, and essay by Phong Bui, School of Visual Arts Press
TEACHING
2016-2019
Rhode Island School of Design, Printmaking Department, Adjunct Professor