Terminal Intensity

Heather Benjamin

April 17th - May 15th 2021

HEATHER BENJAMIN
TERMINAL INTENSITY
SOLO EXHIBITION (PROJECT ROOM)
EXHIBITION DATES: 17 APRIL 2021 to 15 MAY 2021
OPENING RECEPTION: FRI, APR 17TH FROM 5:00 - 8:00 PM
GALLERY HOURS: TUES - SAT / 1PM - 6PM
NEW IMAGE ART, 7920 SANTA MONICA BLVD LOS ANGELES CA 90046

New Image Art is pleased to present, Terminal Intensity, a solo exhibition by Heather Benjamin. We invite you to celebrate the opening reception of the exhibition, Saturday, April 17th, from 5 PM - 8 PM.

Heather Benjamin’s first solo exhibition with New Image Art is the embodiment of the contemporary female gaze, one where womxn can be their true selves, no matter what form that may be. Each vivacious portrait Benjamin has materialized is filled with neon colors, thorny roses, vibrant butterfly wings, waning moons, broken mirrors, and most importantly a fabulous femxle posing nude without any inhibitions. Benjamin has always utilized a female protagonist as a means to digest and reflect her own evolution, and in turn, has created a mirror for the audience to see themselves in her work. A look into the eyes of one of Benjamin’s characters; you feel your hair bristling in the wind driving 100 mph to a place and time where true and wild freedom is celebrated. Be the demon of your own dreams, this type of narrative challenges the mundane and redundant male gaze, through a liberated vision for the female protagonist in which Benjamin meticulously enlivens. Reclaiming and recontextualizing the smutty female figure is an act of self-love and self-preservation, Benjamin stokes the flame by creating a phantasmal punk realm, one on which her figures take the maximum road of sexuality, taking ownership of the clit, butthole, tits, and anything deemed abject by the opposing team.

Presenting all new paintings on paper, canvas, sculpture, and wood panels, the exhibition showcases a series of 16 extremely colorful works, which capture the lone cowgirl in different situations as she navigates the newest chapter of her psychedelic emotional landscape. This exhibition is the culmination of a new chapter in Benjamin’s art practice, where she dives into utilizing a plethora of vibrant and neon colors to depict her multiverse. Terminal Intensity is not only a whirlwind of color but a force of power that is personified from floor to ceiling.

Heather Benjamin is a multi-media artist based in Providence, Rhode Island. Her autobiographical work is expressed through the graphic depiction of female sexuality and mysticism. The foundation of her art practice lies in DIY/Zine culture, printmaking, comic-making, and self-publishing. She veers between illustration and painting in creating her explicit and other-worldly characters.