RICHARD BENOIT FINE ART


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BIO/STATEMENT/CONTACT:
BIOGRAPHY


Richard Benoit, from Kankakee, IL. is a self-taught
artist with a degree in photography. He works in a full compliment of subjects
using pastel, charcoal and acrylic paint. He has been pursuing a career in art
as a means of self expression.

Richard has been exhibiting his artwork (including his photography) for
well over 20 years. Originally he got into photography when using that medium to
take visual notes for his paintings and drawings but now he
concentrates almost exclusively on that later mode of expression. His work
has been described as wonderfully intense and original and is included in
the permanent collections of the Illinois Institute of Art and
Governor's State University. His work is also included in the Bourbonnais
and Bradley Public Libraries, Aventis Pharmaceutical, Riverside Medical
Center and many private and business collections. Richard is a member of
the Chicago Artist's Coalition and is an artist member of the Tall Grass Art
Center, Park Forest, Illinois.

STATEMENT

Paintings are like poetry. If their meaning isn't completely spelled out
or absolutely clear, that meaning will rustle about like dried leaves and
eventually come to settle. At that moment when the meaning comes to light
one gets a sensation of peace and recognition, a glimpse of the universal.
The best paintings are not tied to any particular time or place but are flexible
vibrant things that bring a fresh feeling each time they are viewed.

I like to treat the canvas not as a place to describe something but more
as a place for something to happen. I often arrange random visual elements
in such a way as to excite the viewer's curiosity and intuitive sense of aesthetics.
Put simply, my art is a random collection of chance and intent with the under-
lying belief that art can be a transcendant experience. While working I like to
leave evidence of the art making process (dribbles, brush strokes etc.) to cele-
brate the act of communication. Beauty is important but not at the expense
of emotion, and passion is always more important than technique.

For me art is a quiet place of introspection and repose. I like to create
work that people would want to return to time and again, work that elicits an
emotional response, work where there's truth not just taste and real beauty,
not just ornamentation. Memorable art is a refuge, a place to smooth the
waters. Through my work I wish the viewer a life full of quiet moments, full
of answers, full of peace, and full of beautiful engaging art.


BILL EVANS (jazz pianist) ON ART

My creed for art in general is that it should enrich the soul it should teach spirituality by
showing a person a portion of himself that he would not discover otherwise. It’s
easy to rediscover a part of yourself, but through art you can be shown a part of
yourself you never knew existed. That’s the real mission of art. The artist has to
find something within himself that’s universal and which he can put into terms
that are communicable to other people. The magic of it is that art can communicate
this to a person without his realizing it. Enrichment, that’s the function of music (art).

CONTACT


I look forward to communication from all visitors to my web site.
Please contact me by email at:

richard@rbenoit.com


Artwork on this site will be updated periodically. Please visit again.
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