STEPHEN BENWELL


 

Stephen Benwell was born in Melbourne in 1953. He received a Diploma of Art from the Victorian College of the Arts, Melbourne in 1974 and a Diploma of Education from the Melbourne State College in 1976. After 30 years of professional practice as a ceramicist, Benwell returned to study to complete a Masters of Fine Art in 2005. He is currently a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Art and Design at Monash University.

Benwell has exhibited regularly since 1975 in almost 30 solo exhibitions, not only in Melbourne, but also Sydney and Tokyo. He has also participated in many group exhibitions both in Australia and overseas including most recently Australian Contemporary at SOFA, Chicago in 2006; Australian Glass and Ceramic Art at Galerie Ursula Rosenhauer, Germany; and A Secret History of Blue and White, and Asialink exhibition which toured Asia extensively from 2006 to 2009.

On four occasions, Benwell has won the prestigious Sidney Myer Award from the Shepparton Art Gallery, and in 2009, he was awarded the inaugural Deakin Univerity Contemporary Small Sculpture Award. His work is also included in the collections of the state galleries of South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, as well as the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra and numerous public, corporate and private collections worldwide.

As the recipient of several Australia Council grants over the years, Benwell has had the opportunity to travel extensively and in 1984–1985 undertook a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris. In 2008, a study tour to Greece confirmed Benwell’s ongoing interest in classical art.