Barbara Benish

Barbara Benish lives and works in Prague, Czech Republic, studied at the University of California, Los Angeles, Mexico's Instituto de las Bellas Artes, the University of Hawaii (B.A. in Art/Ethnology 1982), the Royal Academy (Kunstakademien) of Stockholm, Sweden, and Claremont Graduate School (M.F.A. 1988). Benish has shown her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions in California, Hawaii, Washington,D.C., Sweden, and Czech Republic. Barbara Benish's sculpture/installations draw upon a complex mix of sources: the myths and imagery of tribal cultures, Slavic history, alchemical and organic diagrams, the imagination of Franz Kafka, and the tradition of assemblage with its close connection to reliquary and ritual. Her selected exhibitions include: Irrational Propositions, Post Gallery, Los Angeles, 2002, Markers, 49th Venice Biennale, Italy, 2001 Barbara Benish: Historical Models/Working Methods, Montgomery Art Center, Pomona College, Claremont, California, 2000, Dawn of the Magicians, Center for Modern and Contemporary Art, National Gallery, Prague, 1997, Sleepless Nights, P.S.1, New York, 1993, Furor melancholicus, solo exhibition, Stadtgeschichtliche Museen Nürnberg, Germany, 1992 and many others.

Dandylion, steel and mixed media, 72" diameter, 1995

Egg (for Pauline),iron, scotch tape, wire, chair installation: "Kafka's Pool", 1995. U.S. Ambassador's Residence, Prague.

Emancipation into Solitude 1990, acrylic on tarp, light, derby hats, umbrella, wood

Spice Box 1995. oranges, iron, wire, cloves