Fragments, Light
and Sound
I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.
G . O ' K e e f f e
ARTIST STATEMENT
To me, the fact that no two photographic prints are ever exactly the same is a perfect analogy of how I view painting. Photography has taught me that memory is fragile and uncertain and through my painted surfaces memories are recorded and transformed. Modest in scale and subject, my paintings become fleeting moments of distorted reality.
Examining ideas of existence and being, I look for the essence of a person through the essence of an object. The camera becomes a link between an intense description of the world of things and my own response to it. My works are fragments that act like poetic signs; I would like to encourage people to slow down and to see the poetry of everyday life. Through the process of cumulative observation some of my favourite motifs are endlessly copied while others, once pushed to the edge, simply vanish. The diversity of my work unites the idea of looking behind what is seen, which is my main concern.
Martyna Benedyka
b. 1991 in Gdynia, Poland
benedyka.m@gmail.com
Education
FIRST CLASS BA (HONS) PAINTING
2014, Gray’s School of Art, Scotland, UK
Exhibitions
2020
Open Art, Virtual, Art Number 23 Gallery, London, UK
| Athens, Greece
Together We Are One, Swiss Art Expo, Zurich, Switzerland
Poem Vizual II, Galeria Labirint, Iași, Romania
On The Table, Virtual, Marram Arts, Scotland ︎ worldwide
Rest Here | Rămâi aici, Solo Show, Artalpha
Iași Art Residency, Iași, Romania
2020, 2030
Parade of the Schwitters’ Army, Kolaj Institute,
New Orleans, Louisiana |
Merz Gallery, Sanquhar, Scotland, UK
2019
Powrót | Return Solo Show, Palette Gallery, Warsaw, Poland
2018
Themersons 5, Themersons Festival, Płocka Art Gallery, Płock, Poland
Big Village, Small World, Collagistas Festival, Temple Bar Gallery+Studios, Dublin, Ireland
The Sketchbook Project, Brooklyn, NY | Chicago, IL | Atlanta, GA | Spartanburg, SC, USA | Toronto, Canada
2017
Artoteka, Food Think Tank Art Gallery, Wrocław, Poland
The Artbox.Project Basel 1.0, Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Grande Biednale, Bęc Zmiana Foundation, Warsaw, Poland
2016
Day of the Dead - Dada Centennial Exhibition, The International Museum of Collage,
Assemblage and Construction, Santa Fe, NM, USA
Apricity, Mid-Winter Exhibition, Wall Projects, Montrose, Scotland, UK
Oliva in Painting, Warzywniak Art Gallery, Gdańsk, Poland
2015
Waves, PCAO, Summerhall, The Sciennes Galleries, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
A to/from B, Two Person Exhibition, Wagon, Seventeen Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Federation of British Artists - Futures, Mall Galleries, London, UK
Wall Projects Winter Exhibition, Montrose, Scotland, UK
2014
Artsyland 8, Wall Projects II, The Old Rope Works, Montrose, Scotland, UK
Open Your Eyes, Gray's School of Art Degree Show, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Opening Credits, Gray's School of Art Pre-Degree Show, St Margaret’s House, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
2013
Stars in My Eyes, Schwartz Gallery, London, UK
2012
The Seven Habits of Highly Anomalous People, Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
SPD Annual Painting Awards Exhibition, Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Guest Artist Talk
2020
Rest Here | Rămâi aici, Artalpha Iași Art Residency, Galeria
Labirint, Iași, Romania
2015 Cultural Interchange Beyond Languages
and Locations, Seventeen Gallery, Aberdeen,
Scotland, UK
Residencies
2020
Together, Separately, Cel del Nord Virtual Residency, Oristà, Barcelona, Spain
Artalpha Iași Art Residency,
Universitatea Nationala de Arte George
Enescu, Iași, Romania
Selected Collections & Publications
Quince Magazine, London, 2021
Postscript Magazine, UAE, 2020
World Wide Art Magazine (Winner), USA, 2020
http://kolajinstitute.org/collections/schwitters-army/SA018.html
MERZ Gallery, Sanquhar, UK
Pushing Out The Boat, UK, 2019
Płocka Art Gallery Collection, PL
Brooklyn Art Library, Brooklyn, NY, USA
The International Museum of Collage,
Assemblage and Construction Collection, Santa Fe, NM,
USA
Summerhall TV, Edinburgh, UK
A to/from B Photobook, 2015
https://a-to-from-b.tumblr.com/
Pushing Out The Boat, UK, 2015
Collage Collective (The CC Presents: Ken)
Central Stn The Creative Social Network
Scottish Art Blog, 2014
Private Collectors
Selected Press & Reviews
Stars In My Eyes
Wall Street International
https://vimeo.com/145614702
https://wagonart.org/2015/03/01/new-curatorial-project/
http://kolajmagazine.com/artistdirectory/martyna-benedyka
http://thisiscentralstation.com/degree-shows/grays-degree-show-review/
Scholarships
2014
Robert Brough Memorial Scholarship, UK
2009
Scholarship for Artistic Achievements, PL
2003
Presidential Scholarship, Gdansk, PL
© Martyna Benedyka 2021
