Anna Benjamin
Four by Four (cut)
Media: Hand cut handmade abaca paper
Size: 22" x 30" x 0"
$850
Artist Statement:
Over the last few months, as we’ve been confronted with a global pandemic as well as a nation-wide breaking point of racial injustice, I’ve found myself returning again and again to the words of the Hashkiveinu:
“…Spread over us the shelter of Your peace. Guide us with Your good counsel; for Your Name’s sake, be our help. Shield and shelter us beneath the shadow of Your wings. Defend us against enemies, illness, war, famine and sorrow. Distance us from wrongdoing…”
How do we shelter ourselves in times of difficulty? How can we construct safety while surrounded by threats of danger? And how do we protect those faced with the most wrongdoing? These handmade paper works are attempts in creating sanctuary for myself, our community, and those most vulnerable.
Biography
Born and raised in New York City, Anna Hendrick Karpatkin Benjamin currently lives and works out of her home studio in Philadelphia, PA. Beginning her arts education at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, she continued at Haverford College where she received a B.A. in Fine Arts (Printmaking) and Education (2013). After teaching in museums, schools and community art centers in the Philadelphia area, Benjamin went on to receive an M.F.A. in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design (2017). In 2018 she was the inaugural recipient of the West Bay View Foundation Fellowship at Dieu Donné Papermill in Brooklyn, New York, and a Studio Workspace Resident in papermaking at Women’s Studio Workshop in Rosendale, New York in 2019. She utilizes paper, print, drawing and hand cut papers to construct spaces through pattern, repetition and ritual. In addition to her personal practice, Benjamin is the lead organizer of Prints for Protest, a collaborative portfolio project raising funds for communities at risk. She is an Assistant Professor of Drawing at Haverford College and Kutztown University. Her work has been exhibited in New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Ohio and Japan.
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