It’s almost impossible to not immediately recognize a Marilyn Benson painting.
Benson, an active member of the local arts scene whose work frequents many exhibits and public displays, is currently the featured solo artist at Shepard Hall in the Santa Maria Public Library. The exhibit of her charming and radiant acrylic paintings runs through March 27, and it’s a must-see for any local art enthusiast.
Her work always immediately pops when on display. Benson’s saturated color palette is the perfect accompaniment for her subject matter—vibrant scenes from nature peppered with hints of humanity, or sedated city scenes where the busyness of human existence takes a backseat as shadow and light tell a broader story.
The exhibit starts with a welcoming collection of Benson’s depictions of flowers; she has an expert hand at finding new ways to create shapes within poppies, gardenias, and the like. It might be the key to why a lot of her work is so popular; Benson delights in examining old-world material through a modern lens.
Her flowers are composed almost dead center while giving way to an often dark and highly contrasted background. The spark of juxtaposition works well not just to draw the eye in but to also create an ephemeral quality about some of her subjects.
The exhibit features a large and striking bird of paradise, an ambitiously detailed and vivid piece that stands out in an already impressive and layered body of work. The effect of the colorful and dynamic background work is almost one of shooting stars streaking across a night sky. The plant is transformed into its namesake creature, willing its way up through the sky as if in defiance of the powerful forces of nature at hand. It’s a strong yet subtly beautiful piece of art.
Benson also takes on a series dedicated to bicycles. She’s presented a lot of pieces in the past focused on boats, usually empty and quiet on a vacant shore (part of a thematic connection she often revisits in much of her landscape work).
Here we see bicycles utilized in several ways and in different parts of the world. A bike calmly resting on a fence tells the story of a sunny day in a coastal town not unlike one of our own. In Bicycle in Dublin, Ireland, Benson once again reclaims her hand as a visceral storyteller. A bike outside an apartment—rough, tattered gray walls framed by a dark blue shuttered window and door—tells its own deeply human story, again without the presence of actual people’s faces. The piece is imbued with a kind of sadness, as the haunting residue of city life clings to every shadow.
But she switches gears completely with Monsieur Dubois, a piece that is every bit as Parisian in spirit as its name suggests. An intense and surprising piece, Benson’s painting depicts a shining orange background as a man viewed from behind pedals away on his bike. Benson imparts a heaviness in the way her subject carries his shoulders, suggesting the slightest bit of loneliness, which makes it jump from the canvas.
It’s this playful duality that makes her work stand out. Benson is a versatile and fun painter, and this is the perfect opportunity to see what her work is all about.
Arts and Lifestyle Writer Rebecca Rose is a bird in paradise. Contact her at rrose@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 28 – Mar 7, 2019.