About/Bio
Andrew Benson is a painter, thinker, instructor, and media artist living in San Francisco, CA. Andrew’s experimental methodology draws upon concerns as diverse as abstraction, landscape painting, interactive technologies, cartography, systems theory, DIY crafts, signal processing, and design. His work is often a meditation on complex systems, rhythms, material, and our often complicated relationships with technology, play, and interpersonal networks of exchange. In addition to making art objects, he is also involved in designing custom controllers for computer-generated media, wearable electronics, interactive media objects, and performative media systems, as well as doing performance work using these devices. Andrew has been featured in a number of small group shows and workshops in and around the SF Bay Area and Los Angeles, has consulted for several New Media artists, is an adjunct faculty member of San Francisco Art Institute’s Design+Technology department, and contributes to the software and educational materials of Cycling ‘74, the makers of software such as MaxMSP and Jitter.
bio
Education
BFA Painting, San Francisco Art Institute, 2005
Exhibitions
“SF Video Artists Festival”,2004
“Time-Based Works” Diego Rivera Gallery,SF,CA,2004
“Artech Occupies Playshop”, Two week residency/workshop at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, hosted by futurefarmers, 2004
“Aesthetics of Cute” SFAI,2004
“Group Show” Balazo Gallery,2004
“Collaborative Installation w/ Chika Sato and Josh Pavlick”, Diego Rivera Gallery, 2005
“SFAI Spring Show” SFAI, 2005
“SFAI Commencement Show” McBean Gallery, 2005
“Glitch” LACMA West, 2006
“Gift Show” 301 Bocana Gallery, 2006
“Excavations” Johansson Projects Gallery, 2007
“An Affair at the Jupiter Hotel” - Portland, OR art fair.Johansson Projects Gallery, 2007
“Red Dot Art Fair” Miami art fair, concurrent with Art Basel. Johansson Projects Gallery, 2007
“Chicago NEXT” art fair 2008.
“Uncharted: Imaginary Landscape” Hayes Valley Market Gallery, SF. May 2008
“Impromptu, Sentient” at a.Muse Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2008
Performance
“a_noise.3″ SF,CA,2003
“a_noise.4″ SF,CA,2003
“a_noise.5″ SF,CA,2004
“Exit Reception”, Playshop@YBCA, 2004
“triggerbangbang” SF,CA,2004
“Opening Reception” Diego Rivera Gallery, SF,CA, 2005
Teaching
San Francisco Art Institute, Design and Technology dept., Spring 2008 - present
CNMAT @ UC Berkeley, Jitter Night School, Summer 2007
Awards/Honors
Golden Artists Colors Award, 2004
SFAI Spring Show Award, 2005
SFAI Painting Award, 2005
Robert Howe Fletcher Cup Award for work in Design+Technology,2005