About
Sara Benninga is a painter and art researcher, living and working in Jerusalem.
Benninga is a lecturer at the department of visual and material culture at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, as well as in the department of art history at Tel Aviv University.
Benninga holds a PhD in art history from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, as well as a BFA from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, a BA in art history and literature from Tel Aviv University and a MA in art history from the Hebrew University.
Benninga’s artistic practice focuses on medium to large sized oil paintings, as well as drawings and prints. In her narrative painting, Benninga synthesizes figures from her personal world, with cultural and media influences.
In mostly imagined scenes Benninga researches social relations and tensions as well as formal questions ranging from the figurative to the abstract.
Benninga has exhibited a solo show at Maya Gallery, Tel Aviv (2021), a double-show at the New Gallery, Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem (2017), and various group shows
in Israel.
She has been awarded a young-artist prize from the Print Workshop Jerusalem (2016), and has taken part in Asylum Arts’ residency in Garrison New York (2018).
Her paintings have been featured in a number
of publications.
Solo Exhibitions
2021 - Bacchanal, Maya Gallery, Tel Aviv
2019 - Artist Wall, Maya Gallery, Tel Aviv
2017 - Trickle, New Gallery, Teddy Stadium
2012 - BFA graduation exhibition, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
Group Exhibitions
2021: Bloodline: The Artist’s Family, Litvak Contemporary, Tel Aviv. Curated by Hadas Glazer.
2021: Draw me a Child, Illustration Week, Tel Aviv. Curated by Tal Frenkel Alroy.
2020: Salon Hacubia, Portraiture exhibition. Curated by Ella Cohen Vansover and Dan Ormian.
2019: Present Occurrences: Winners of the Young Artists Scholarship. Jerusalem Print Workshop. Curator: Irena Gordon.
2019 - “Civilized Jungle”, Gallery of David Yellin Academic College of Education. Curator: Nava T. Barazani.
2018 - Group exhibition at Rosenbach Contemporary Art Gallery, Jerusalem.
2018 - Pnina Yuchtman Prize, Rali Museum, Cesaerea. Curator: Uri Rosenwein.
2018 - Eclectica, Koresh 14, Jerusalem. Curator: Vered Hadad.
2017 - Man's Man, Jerusalem Biennale, Bezeq Building
2017 - Meet the Artist, Menofim, Jerusalem
2017 - Salon, Hakubia, Jerusalem. Curators: Dan Ormian and Ella Cohen Vansover.
2017 - Artist’s Appointment, Manofim, Jerusalem Contemporary Art Festival. Curator: Hadas Glazer.
2016 - Hallway Conversations, The New Gallery, Jerusalem. Curator: Tamar Gispan-Greenberg.
2016 - Barbur 24 hour residency, Jerusalem.
2015 - Demons and Ghosts, The New Gallery, Jerusalem. Curator: Hedva Shemesh.
2014 - Bread and Roses, Art sale exhibition, Tel Aviv.
Awards
2018 - Asylum Arts Retreat, Garrison, New York
2016 - Printing scholarship, Jerusalem Print Workshop
Publications
2021 - Featured painting in Thoughts on Food, Department of Visual and Material Culture, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design.
2021 - Cover Image and artist statement, Mantis: A Journal of Poetry, Criticism and Translation, Stanford University, Issue 19.
2020 - Editor’s Choice, Terminal Art Magazine, editor: Rachel Sukman.
Education
PhD art history, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (July 2017)
MA art history, Hebrew University, Jerusalem (2009)
BFA Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, Jerusalem (2012)
BA art history and comparative literature, Tel Aviv University (2006)
Work Experience
2016 - present: Lecturer, Department of History and Theory, Bezalel Academy of Art and Design
2018 - present: Lecturer, Department of Art History, Tel Aviv University
