Roberto Benavidez
Abstract Piñata No. 8, 2024
25" x 11" x 11"
ARTIST BIO:
Piñata-based sculptor, Roberto Benavidez (b. 1973, Beeville, TX) lives and works in the Los Angeles, CA neighborhood of El Sereno. His piñata sculptures have been featured in national, international and on-line publications including American Craft Magazine, ARTnews, Artsy, Atlas Obscura, The Guardian, hifructose.com, Hyperallergic, LUXE Interiors + Design, Politiken, The New York Times and This Is Colossal. Most recently he was featured in the New York Times Series “The Art of Craft.” Benavidez has shown in group and solo exhibitions, including at the AD&A Museum at UCSB, Craft In America, Mingei International Museum, Palo Alto Art Center, Self Help Graphics, Mesa Contemporary Art Museum and Riverside Art Museum; and last year his work was included in the 2024 Homo Faber Biennial in Venice, Italy. LA Metro commissioned him to contribute to the “Through the Eyes of Artists” poster series (2019); his Bosch fruit fascinators are featured in the finale of The Interview with the Vampire series on AMC+. He is also featured in the “Play” episode of the Craft In America PBS series and is the subject of the 2024 documentary short “Piñatas of Earthly Delights” directed by Tom Maroney. His work is in the permanent collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, LA Metro, The Museum of International Folk Art and the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
STATEMENT:
The goal of my body of work is to expand the breadth of what a piñata can be and to solidify the piñata's place in the art world canon. These works are from my Abstract Piñata series which is a celebration of piñata materials and process and an exploration of form and color: finding a combination of balloon shapes that creates a moving gesture and brought to life with layered, complex hand-cut crepe paper fringe. Through this series the viewer will see the piñata medium is just as powerful and striking as any other art form.