Luis Bendaña

Bachelor of Fine Arts

Bio

Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts, SAIC, 2012

Awards/Achievements
James Nelson Raymond Fellowship
Merit Scholarship
 
Exhibitions
ON AGAIN/OFF AGAIN, 1dm, Chicago, 2012
All You Can Eat 420, Tom Robinson Gallery, Chicago, 2012
Tongue, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, 2012
ExTV on CANTV, Chicago, 2012
Cocktails II, Bodega, Philadelphia, 2011
Young Contemporaries, CourtneyBlades, Chicago, 2011
THE EXTREME CONTEST, CourtneyBlades, Chicago, 2011
Undergraduate Film/Video Festival, SAIC, 2011
Forever (21), Sang Ho Gallery, Chicago, 2010
RON ARTIST MVP, Noble and Superior Projects, Chicago, 2010
Saddle Tramps Collection, Heaven Gallery, Chicago, 2010
De Tu Familia, LASO, Chicago, 2010
 
Curatorial Projects
Queer Thoughts, Chicago, 2012
Tongue, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, 2012
ExTV on Chicago Access Network Television, Chicago, 2012
Tortured Embrace Library, CourtneyBlades, Chicago, 2011
Brilliance, 280 Project Space, Chicago, 2011
Undergraduate Film/Video Festival, SAIC, 2011

Experience at SAIC

I began my studies at SAIC taking classes in the Film, Video, New Media, and Animation department. During my course of study I wanted to explore other media, so I started taking classes in the Fiber and Material Studies department. This expanded my practice showing me that an idea could span a wide range of media.

Personal Statement

In my work, which is often autobiographical, I seek to articulate with subtle humor and abstraction the themes of isolation and pain in order to focus on their curious and often comic importance in our lives. As a child I was greatly influenced by the works of William Shakespeare and by various Broadway musicals. My work has an underlying sense of the tension between comedy and tragedy and always references the drama of theater.

I create work in a variety of media. Using different materials and processes—including animation, film, video, painting, screen-printing, sculpture, machine knitting, and textile dying—I seek to investigate the human condition and the pensive, contemplative nature of life using imagery that is not always obvious in its concept.

With my fellowship award, I plan to start an apartment gallery where I can continue working with other artists and begin a curatorial practice that will coincide with my own studio practice.

Current Interests

My most recent work is a collection of paintings, some of which abstract certain words and phrases like Miau (meow in Spanish) and Gordjöss (a reinterpretation of the word gorgeous). I like these words because they express the conflict inherent in sensuality and desire, reflecting on the mixed emotions that one often feels when aroused or tantalized.

To make these paintings, I have been working with liquid latex, machine knit layers, dyed fabric and vinyl. I use this combination of materials to evoke the seductive and provocative qualities of flesh.