Richard Benson: The World Is Smarter Than You Are Opens Feb 5

Richard Benson: The World Is Smarter Than You Are Opens Feb. 5 at Sarasota Art Museum

First major exhibition of Benson’s renowned work comes to Sarasota

December 13, 2022

Sarasota, FL – December 13, 2022 – Sarasota Art Museum of Ringling College is pleased to present Richard Benson: The World Is Smarter Than You Are, on view Feb. 5-May 7, 2023. Richard Benson (Nov. 8, 1943-June 22, 2017) was an American photographer, printer, and educator. Organized by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The World Is Smarter Than You Are is the first in-depth survey of Benson’s own photography.

The exhibition includes approximately 100 works that convey Benson’s pathfinding exploration of photographic processes, his embrace of technologies old and new, and his deep empathy for his human subjects as well as the objects and environments they have built. Including prints from the late 1960s until shortly before Benson’s death in 2017, the exhibition traces his ever-evolving quest for prints.

Benson, a gifted and celebrated teacher, was also a beloved professor and dean at Yale University and inspired over three decades of students and artisans through his mentorship and work. The Sarasota presentation of the exhibition includes a selection of artworks on paper by 10 notable artists who studied and worked with him at Yale: Dawoud Bey, Lois Conner, Jen Davis, An-My Lê, John Lehr, Andrea Modica, Arthur Ou, John Pilson, Caitlin Teal Price, and Sarah Stolfa. These diverse photographs by such acclaimed artists demonstrate the open-minded approach to art Benson fostered in students. It is especially meaningful to include them along with his own work at Sarasota Art Museum, an academic museum that serves to fulfill its educational mission as part of the Ringling College of Art and Design.

In addition, Benson was a master printer of photographs before becoming a photographer. He helped produce some of the most significant photography books of the past 50 years, including Photographs from the Collection of the Gilman Paper Company. Considered to be one of the most important private photography collections ever assembled, it included rare 19th-century prints in diverse processes as well as works by noted 20th-century photographers such as Diane Arbus, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Alfred Stieglitz, among others. Several of his photography books are part of the exhibition.

“With this exhibition we recognize the importance of Richard Benson’s work, which explores everyday scenes that will strongly resonate with our regional audience but that also examines his gloriously and painstakingly crafted prints,” said Virginia Shearer, Sarasota Art Museum’s Executive Director. “We are delighted to work with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Peter Barberie, The Brodsky Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center on the project and we look forward to bringing these marvelous photographs to Sarasota.”

The World Is Smarter Than You Are reflects both Benson’s abiding interest in improving traditional photo-making methods as well as his gradual embrace of digital photography and experiments in printing that yielded new directions for his artistic craft. It also explores his philosophical musings and writings, teaching materials and work as a printer, underscoring the deep connections between his intellectual, technical, and creative pursuits.

As his reputation as an innovator in printing processes grew, so too did his influence. He received two Guggenheim Fellowships (1979, 1986) and the MacArthur Fellowship (1986), not to mention support from the National Endowment for the Arts (1973, 1982) and the Eakins Press Foundation.

The exhibition is curated by Peter Barberie, the Brodsky Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center, Philadelphia Museum of Art, who also edited the publication that accompanies the exhibition. Sarasota Art Museum is the only venue where the show travels outside Philadelphia.

“In the photography world, Benson is highly regarded as a printer and teacher, but never before has there been an in-depth survey to explore his own photographs, which are challenging, difficult, and beautiful representations of everyday life,” Barberie said. “His free-thinking blend of traditional craftsmanship, cutting-edge technology, and human empathy resulted in a unique and powerful body of work, and I am gratified to bring his important contributions to photography to audiences in Philadelphia and beyond.”

Richard Benson: The World Is Smarter Than You Are celebrates an important promised gift of Benson’s art, assembled by the artist and offered to the Philadelphia Museum of Art by his close friends, collectors Elizabeth and William Kahane.

This exhibition is paid for, in part, by Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax revenues.

CURATOR TALK

Peter Barberie

Saturday, February 4
10 am
Sarasota High School Alumni Auditorium

Free for Members; $20 Not-Yet Members

Exhibition curator, Peter Barberie, will discuss the life and work of Richard Benson, an extraordinary photographer, master printer, and mentor who helped shape many of the greatest photography books of the past fifty years.

Barberie, the Brodsky Curator of Photographs, Alfred Stieglitz Center at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, originated the first major survey of Benson’s photography and edited the book that accompanies the exhibition, a volume which features works from the exhibition and comparative illustrations from several of the photography books Benson helped produce in his career.

This program is made possible, in part, with generous support from:
Dr. Eloise A. Werlin Endowed Fund

About Sarasota Art Museum

Sarasota Art Museum is a catalyst for appreciation and understanding of the art of our time. As a platform for exposure, education, and experimentation, the Museum inspires new ideas and new ways of being through an endless rotation of transformative, relevant, and pioneering exhibitions and programs designed to elevate and empower all by cultivating discerning visual thinkers and ethical citizens.

Sarasota Art Museum is Ringling College of Art and Design’s dynamic laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art. Sarasota Art Museum shares the Ringling College Museum Campus with Ringling College’s Continuing Studies program comprised of the non-credit Studio and Digital Arts program and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Ringling College.

Located in the historic Sarasota High School, Sarasota Art Museum opened to the public in 2019 in the beautifully reimagined building by K/R Architects. The new Museum is comprised of 15,000 square feet of dedicated exhibition space, a plaza court, the Great Lawn featuring temporary sculpture and site – specific installations, Bistro, and SHOP.

As Sarasota’s only museum solely focused on contemporary artists and their work, Sarasota Art Museum offers visitors a place to see thought-provoking exhibitions and participate in education programs that start conversations and amplify the city’s creative spirit.

SHOP, located in the Museum’s lobby, features an eclectic collection of exhibition-related merchandise, art and architecture books, contemporary jewelry, and gifts.

Bistro at Sarasota Art Museum is located on the Museum’s campus in Paul Rudolph’s Sarasota School of Architecture 1959 Vocational Shops building. The Bistro fare is inspired by Florida’s regional fruit stands and farmer’s markets and emphasizes local produce, healthy proteins, and artisanal specialty items brought to you by Executive Chef and general manager Kaytlin Dangaran.

To stay in the know:

Museum Admission and Hours

Media Contact:

Ashley Parker
MagnifyGood
Phone: 941-713-9821
aparker@magnifygood.com