Susan Benarcik was born in Wilmington, DE. She received her B.F.A. at the Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, and her M.F.A. at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. Since her emergence in the 1990’s Susan Benarcik has blended the concerns and methods of a naturalist, printmaker and sculptor to create her own unique vocabulary that connects human beings with the awareness of larger ecological systems through education and aesthetics.
Often cross disciplinary, and always engaging, her work explores new possibilities for sustainability through an artistic medium based on balancing and merging the natural and built worlds. The intricate and hypnotic patterns within the works, are inspired by nature, and invite quiet contemplation. At the heart of her practice stands a philosophy that we are all inextricably connected to the natural world.
As writer Abigail Doan suggests, "New York City-based artist Susan Benarcik moves craftily between the realms of installation art and surface design, and with the keen eye of a research scientist, peels away our pre-conceived ideas about organic form and complex modern living.”
With a strong commitment to sustainable methodologies, the artist’s intricately detailed installations and smaller assemblage made of seemingly un-useful by-products viscerally confront us with the reality that our consumer lifestyles contribute to this collective abundance of material. Her aim is to consume and produce with integrity, because our actions directly impact the global environment.
Since her first solo show with Inman Gallery, in Houston, TX (1992). Benarcik's work has been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions. Recent solo shows include “Material Texture” at Desiron in New York, NY (2010), “Nature’s Enchantment” at Tyler Arboretum in Media, PA (2010), “A Peculiar Nature” at Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, NY (2007), and “Liminal” at Delaware Center Contemporary Art in Wilmington, DE (2005).
The artist is the recipient of a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant (2009), she lives and works in New York City.
