Matthew Benedict

In 2008, a large survey exhibition of Benedict’s work was presented at the Von der Heydt-Museum/Kunsthalle Barmen, Wuppertal and accompanied by The Mage’s Pantry, a monograph published by Hatje Cantz. 

Some of the seemingly nostalgic works by Matthew Benedict (*1968 in Rockwell, Connecticut) recall illustrations from old children’s books, with pirates, saints, and Freemasons recurrently populating his paintings, photographs, embroidered pieces, and sculptures. Magical and obscure, these captivating images focus the viewer’s eye on the superficialities of the work; meaning and pictorial agendas are intended to remain a mystery. The quiet, beautiful, and yet uncanny dreamworld of his symbolic figures, and his allegorical references to literature or history, deliberately elude comprehension in the mind of the uninitiated observer. This is the first monograph to examine Benedict's entire œuvre, as well as its references to illustrative and decorative conventions and techniques.