During 2020 work by Paul Benney will be on display in an internationally-touring group exhibition alongside work by leading artists such as Yinka Shonibare, Tracey Emin, Mat Collishaw, Gerhard Richter, Marina Abramović, Cindy Sherman, and Gavin Turk. Benney will also present work in three solo shows this year in the UK and Sweden.

In Iconic Images, internationally renowned artists whose work has been influential in the 20th and 21st Centuries respond to the work of historic masters such as Michelagelo, da Vinci, Goya, Rembrandt, Rodin, Caravaggio and Raphael. The works of the old masters are included in the form of sketches, casts and archive documentation. Many of the contemporary works in the show have been made specifically for the exhibition and express how today’s artists have been inspired by those of the past.

The exhibition explores the congruences and contrasts between iconic art of the past and present. It questions how a work becomes an icon, how the power of iconic art changes over the centuries, and what the icons of an age reveal about the culture from which they emerge. Iconic Images is also an interrogation of the museum format, looking at changes in artwork collection and display and looking at how the development of international museums such as the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum have contributed to the evolution of art. Benney’s contribution to the exhibition is a monumental oil painting, Entombment (after Rembrandt), which pays homage to the Dutch master of light and portraiture. This continues an ongoing relationship between Benney’s work and that of Rembrandt, as seen in Benney’s Night Paintings (2012). 

Entombment (after Rembrandt), Oil on Canvas, 2.7 mtrs x 2.1 mtrs

From 20 February to 17 May the exhibition is at Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; it then tours to Ateneum, Helsinki from 18 June to 20 September. It is curated by Dr. Susanna Pettersson, James Putnam and Sointu Fritze.

As well as exhibiting in Iconic Images, in 2020 Benney will present work in a number of solo shows. From 13 to 28 June an extensive solo exhibition of work by Benney will be shown at the International Aldeburgh Music and Arts Festival at Snape Maltings Gallery in Suffolk, UK. The exhibition includes digital works and projections, paintings and resin-based works and is displayed in multiple spaces at Snape Maltings including derelict buildings. During June Benney is also the featured artist at the Unmodernt Music Festival in Stockholm. Towards the end of 2020 Benney will be presenting a solo exhibition featuring projections, paintings and digital artworks in the cavernous Tithe Barn space at Messums in Wiltshire, UK. 

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Top Image:The Potters Hands, Oil and resin on board. 1.2 mtrs x 60 cms