Manfredi Beninati is an Italian artist born in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

(

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

) in 1970. A contemporary figurative painter, his oeuvre also covers installations, drawings, sculpture, collage and film.

Biography

After dropping out of both law and film school and collaborating with well-known Italian directors, Manfredi Beninati began working as an artist. He spent some time in Spain and England and, in 2002, when he came back to Italy, he began to make sculptures and figurative paintings that drew directly on real or imaginary childhood memories. Beninati first started studying law and then switched to film courses in the early 1990s while working as an assistant director in the Italian film industry. In 1994 he moved to London where he started working as a visual artist. In 2005 he was selected as one of four artists to represent his country at the 51 Venice Biennale where he received the audience award for the Italian pavilion. In 2006 he was given a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome as part of the

Rome Prize The Rome Prize is awarded by the American Academy in Rome, in Rome, Italy. Approximately thirty scholars and artists are selected each year to receive a study fellowship at the academy. Prizes have been awarded annually since 1921, with a hiatus ...

. He currently lives and works in Palermo, Rome and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

where, together with his wife Milena Muzquiz (of Los Super Elegantes) he has founded an

experimental theatre Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Richard Wagner, Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu Roi, Ubu plays as a rejection of bot ...

group. He is represented by James Cohan Gallery in New York, Tomio Koyama in Tokyo and Galleria Lorcan O'Neill in Rome. In 2014 Beninati had a solo show titled ''Nature is a Theatre'' at Inside-Out Art Museum in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

and in 2016 the Museo Civico in

Castelbuono Castelbuono ( Sicilian: ''Castiddubbuonu'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily (southern Italy). Fountain of Venere Ciprea. It is known for its castle from which its name derives, and around which the city deve ...

(Italy) has dedicated an anthological retrospective exhibition covering the first fifteen years of Beninati's work. Beninati is also a patron of Italian cultural heritage, organizing exhibitions, workshops, seminars and producing publications on Italian talents, through a foundation he and his mother set up in the memory of his younger brother Flavio. Recent projects he has curated include a series of talks on Italian design and a workshop on architecture icon

Aldo Rossi Aldo Rossi (3 May 1931 – 4 September 1997) was an Italian architect and designer who achieved international recognition in four distinct areas: architectural theory, drawing and design and also product design. He was one of the leading exponen ...

held by American architect Thomas Tsang in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

and

Trivia

*He has collaborated with Turkish fashion designer

Rifat Ozbek Rifat Ozbek ( tr, Rıfat Özbek, ; born 1953) is a Turkish-born fashion designer, known for his exotic, ethnically-inspired outfits. He was named British Designer of the Year in 1988 and 1992. Biography Ozbek was born in Istanbul, Turkey and gr ...

on a dress commission by fashion bi-annual

Another Magazine ''Another Magazine'', styled ''AnOther'', is an international fashion and culture bi-annual. Founded in 2001, its Editor-in-Chief is Susannah Frankel, who joined in January 2016. Frankel had been Fashion Features Director of the magazine since ...

in 2007. *His work has appeared in a number of feature films such as, recently, '' Melissa P.'' and ''

Flashbacks of a Fool ''Flashbacks of a Fool'' is a 2008 British drama film about a Hollywood actor who, following the death of his childhood best friend, reflects upon his life and what might have been, had he stayed in England. The film was directed by Baillie Wal ...

''. *The 2009 album ''Maboroshi'' (E. Ishibashi, G. Gebbia and D. Camarda) features two of Beninati's paintings on the front and back covers.

Solo shows

*2016 "Manfredi Beninati", Museo Civico di Castelbuono, Italy *2014 "Manfredi Beninati. Nature is a theater", Inside-Out Miniature Museum, Beijing, China *2013 "Manfredi Beninati. Il sei novembre del duemilatrentanove", Galleria Lorcan O'Neill, Rome, Italy *2011 "Manfredi Beninati", Cura Project Space, Rome, Italy *2011 "Manfredi Beninati. Le voci di dentro" FPAC, Palermo, Italy *2010 "Manfredi Beninati. Dicembre 2039", Max Wigram Gallery, London, UK *2009 "Manfredi Beninati. Rearranging the Landscapes around", Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan *2008 "Manfredi Beninati. La natura morta", Max Wigram Gallery, London, U.K. *2007 "Manfredi Beninati. La lettera "f"",

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects, ...

, Rome, Italy *2007 "Manfredi Beninati. Flavio and Palermo (in the summer) ",

James Cohan Gallery James Cohan is a contemporary art gallery in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. History The gallery had a branch in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan. It opened another in the former French Concession of Shanghai in 20 ...

, New York, USA *2007 "Manfredi Beninati. A Flavio", Museo Laboratorio, Città Sant'Angelo (PE), Italy *2006 "Manfredi Beninati", Galeria Braga Menendez, Buenos Aires, Argentina *2005 "Manfredi Beninati. Rescued works", Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome, Italy *2005 "Manfredi Beninati. Drawing cabinet", FPAC, Palermo, Italy *2005 "Manfredi Beninati. New Paintings", James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA *2003 "Manfredi Beninati", Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome, Italy

Group shows

*2017 "Fragments from nowherland", Kunsthochschule,

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

*2016 "Anni Zero. 2016", Gallery of Art -

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public state-related research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist minister Russell Conwell and his congregation Grace Baptist Church of Philadelphia then called Ba ...

, Rome, Italy *2016 "La torre di Babele", Pecci Museum, Prato, Italy *2016 "Contemporary Curated - The Erdem Moralioglu's choise",

Sotheby's Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...

, London, UK *2016 "Dall'oggi al domani. 24 ore nell'arte contemporanea", MACRO, Rome, Italy *2015 "LOGO: Manfredi Beninati,

Enzo Cucchi Enzo Cucchi (born 14 November 1949) is an Italian painter. A native of Morro d'Alba, province of Ancona, he was a key member of the Italian Transavanguardia movement, along with his countrymen Francesco Clemente, Mimmo Paladino, Nicola De Maria, ...

, Laboratorio Saccardi", Galleria Poggiali e Forconi, Florence, Italy *2013 "Outrageous Fortune", Touring Exhibition, Focal Point Gallery, Southend on Sea/ Hayward Gallery, London, UK *2013 "Artisti nello spazio - Da Lucio Fontana a oggi: gli ambienti nell'arte italiana", Fondazione Rocco Guglielmo, Catanzaro, Italy *2012 "Reactivation", 9th Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai, China *2012 "Double Take", 2nd Mardin Bienali,

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

, Turkey *2011 "A rock and a hard place", 3rd Thessaloniki Biennale,

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

, Greece *2011 "When in Rome", IIC Los Angeles and Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, U.S.A. *2011 "Outrageous Fortune", Touring Exhibition, Focal Point Gallery/

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Roy ...

, U.K. *2011 "Vanitas!", UCLA, Los Angeles, U.S.A. *2011 "Archive Fever", Open Care, Milano, Italy *2011 "Premio Maretti", Museo Pecci, Prato, Italy *2011 "Accademia. Stanze. Persone.", American Academy in Rome, Italy *2010 "PPS", Riso - Museo Arte Contemporanea di Sicilia, Palermo, Italy *2010 "Argianas, Beninati, Bradley, Buchler, Hugonnier, Hulusi, White", Max Wigram Gallery, London, U.K. *2010 "Memento", La Giarina Arte Contemporanea,

Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Northern Italy, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and the ...

, Italy *2010 "I can't feel my face", Royal T art space, Los Angeles, U.S.A. *2009 "Heaven", 2nd Athens Biennale 2009, Athens, Greece *2009 "Collaudi", Italian Pavilion, 53

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, Venice, Italy *2009 "The Tree", James Cohan Gallery, Shanghai, China *2009 "No more than a point of view", Prague Biennale, Prague, Czech Republic *2009 "Escaping the dead ends",

Istanbul Biennale The Istanbul Biennial is a contemporary art exhibition that has been held biennially in Istanbul, Turkey, since 1987. The Biennial has been organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) since its inception. Format Istanbul Bien ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Turkey *2009 "Obsession: Contemporary art from the Lodeveans collection", University of Leeds,

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, U.K. *2009 "Collections, December; Atsushi Fukui, Gert&Uwe Tobias, Manfredi Beninati, Masaya Yoshimura", TKG Editions Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan *2008 "Made Up",

Liverpool Biennial Liverpool Biennial is the largest international contemporary art festival in the United Kingdom. Every two years, the city of Liverpool hosts an extensive range of artworks, projects, and a programme of events. The biennial commissions leading ...

, Liverpool, U.K. *2008 "Sand: Memory, Meaning and Metaphor", Parrish Museum, Southampton (NY), U.S.A. *2008 "

15th Rome Quadriennale The 15th Rome Quadriennale or XV Rome Quadriennale (Italian pronunciation: ''Quindicesima Quadriennale di Roma'') is an Italian art exhibition (the 15th edition of the Rome Quadrennial) held between 19 June and 14 September 2008 at its historical si ...

Palazzo delle Esposizioni The Palazzo delle Esposizioni is a neoclassical exhibition hall, cultural center and museum on Via Nazionale in Rome, Italy. History Designed by Pio Piacentini, it opened in 1883. It has housed several exhibitions (e.g. Mostra della Rivoluzi ...

, Rome, Italy *2008 "Imaginary Realities ...", Max Wigram Gallery, London,U.K. *2008 "Dream Therapy", Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, U.S.A. *2008 "Passed as present", York Art Gallery, York, U.K. *2007 "Summer Show", James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA *2007 "Arte italiana 1968-2007. Pittura", Palazzo Reale, Milano, Italy *2007 "The end begins", The Hospital, London, UK *2007 "Detour", The Art Directors Club, New York, USA *2007 "Open Studios", American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy *2006 "Negotiating reality", Victoria H. Myhren Gallery, University of Denver, Denver, USA *2006 "C’era una volta un re...", Arcos Museo, Benevento, Italy *2006 "Figuring the landscape", Contemporary Art Galleries, Storrs (Ct), USA *2005 " Altmejd, Beninati, Everberg et Margolis", Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France *2005 "12 painters", Galleria In Arco, AB+, Turin, Italy *2005 Padiglione Venezia at Giardini, 51

, Venice, Italy *2004 "Between the lines", James Cohan Gallery, New York, USA *2004 "Expander",

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

, London, UK *2004 "Summer show", Galleria Lorcan O’Neill, Rome, Italy *2004 "Wall Paper", GAMeC, Bergamo, Italy *2003 "Dirty pictures", The Approach Gallery, London, UK *2003 "Quadriennale di Roma-Anteprima", Palazzo Reale, Naples, Italy *2003 "Roma 2003", Galleria Pack, Milan, Italy *2003 "Le collezioni – Recenti acquisizioni",

MAXXI MAXXI ( it, Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, italic=no, "national museum of 21st-century arts") is a national museum of contemporary art and architecture in the Flaminio neighborhood of Rome, Italy. The museum is managed by a foundation ...

– Museo Nazionale delle Arti del XXI Secolo, Rome, Italy *2002 "Www.plot@rt", Rome, Italy

Collections

*Zabludowicz Collection, Sarvisalo, London, New York *Logan Collection, Denver *Lodeveans Collection, London *MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome *UBS Art Collection

Awards and residencies

*IOAM - Inside-Out Art Museum, Beijing, 2013 *Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, 2010 Manfredi Beninati page in Civitella Ranieri Foundation's official website
/ref> *Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome, 2006 *Audience award – Italian pavilion, 51 Venice biennale, 2005 *Darc Prize for young Italian art, 2004

Writings

* Manfredi Beninati

Liverpool biennial catalog, 2008 * Manfredi Beninati, "Une image fixe vous tient en dehors d'elle-meme", Ligeia, 2006
PDF in French

References

External links

*
FLICKR IMAGESManfredi Beninati on JAMES COHAN GALLERY websiteManfredi Beninati on GALLERIA LORCAN O'NEILL websiteBeninati on MAX WIGRAM GALLERY websiteTOMIO KOYAMA websiteManfredi Beninati on RE-TITLE.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beninati, Manfredi Artists from Palermo 1970 births Living people Contemporary painters Italian contemporary artists 21st-century Italian male artists Postmodern artists