Site:Brooklyn New York online Exhibition

Delighted to have my work ‘Sharing a Space’ in Site:Brooklyn Gallery, New York - online exhibition ‘Pattern and Repetition’ juried by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy. Site:Brooklyn Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting the current practice of contemporary artists.
Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy is a New York and Los Angeles-based curator - currently Assistant Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York.

I am honoured to be included among 26 artists selected for the exhibition. 

Karen Benton Artist Statement 
Site:Brooklyn Online Exhibition Pattern and Repetition 
December 23, 2021 – January 23, 2022
In ‘Sharing a Space’ I have draped and folded a grid constructed from yoga matting over another grid that is gesturally painted in acrylic on canvas. These manipulations aim to take the grid beyond being a formalist exploration of space by transforming it into a vessel which embodies notions of connection and control. 
My assemblages often juxtapose the gestural with minimal forms. They engage with the notion of psychogeography and are articulations of my encounters and interactions within urban and natural environments. 
I often manipulate an eclectic range of materials to embody the spaces between such dualities as strength and vulnerability; control and spontaneity; and stasis and fluidity.


Site:Brooklyn New York Gallery - Pattern & Repetition - an Online Exhibition
Site:Brooklyn Gallery is dedicated to exhibiting the current practice of contemporary artists.
Pattern & Repetition - an Online Exhibition
Juried by Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy
Pattern and Repetition features works by twenty-six artists employing various materials, including fiber, paper, clay, wood, mixed media, and video, that together quilt a rich picture of the versatility of patterning as an artistic strategy. Although most overtly used in clothing and home decor, patterns are everywhere, even nature. Inhabiting a spectrum, they can be minimal, complex, muted, bold, precise, organic, and range widely in scale. There are many well-known patterns, such as plaid and houndstooth. However, with only a few gestures made in sequence, a new pattern is born, intrinsically intertwining with repetition. It is a decorative technique that allows for maximum impact through a straightforward approach. Many patterns also hold cultural and historical significance worldwide, from Islamic sacred geometry to Scottish kilts and Acoma pottery. Repetition within a pattern establishes a flow that fosters balance and order, yet ironically, it can create a disorienting or maddening chaos if taken a step too far. This exhibition underscores the inherently repetitive nature of artistic labor, from cutting pieces of paper and puzzling them back together to craft a new image to building a structure by coiling clay or methodically applying droplets of glaze. Other examples include painstakingly embroidering a photograph, turning wood on a lathe, weaving a textile, and amassing found objects

Furthermore, Pattern and Repetition highlights the innovative ways the selected artists develop, interpret, amplify, manipulate, and disrupt patterns to discuss a range of topics such as gender, tradition, consumerism, and emotional duality. The grid, a structural framework, is a recurring motif in the exhibition through renderings of checkerboards, lattices, argyle. However, the artists transform squares, diamonds, and lines through sizing, color choices, positioning, and spacing to achieve dynamic abstract and geometric compositions that defy the rigidity of classic patterns. Other pieces make for a psychedelic experience through wavy linework or mirrored organic shapes, while many artists bring patterns to life through three-dimensionality or animation. Pattern and Repetition is a cacophony of familiar symbols and forms that invites reflection on our relationship to patterns and their profound potential for artistic exploration.

—Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy

Angelik Vizcarrondo-Laboy (She/Her) is a New York and Los Angeles-based curator, writer, and arts administrator of contemporary art and craft, focusing on ceramics. Her current research investigates the “aesthetics of optimism” and the subversive power of humour, cuteness, and leisure as tools of protest. Amplifying the voices of BIPOC artists is central to her practice. She serves as Assistant Curator at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York. Since 2016, she has been part of MAD’s curatorial team, helping organize over twenty exhibitions and projects. She also oversees MAD’s Burke Prize, a prestigious contemporary craft award
She holds a BA in Art History from the University of Florida with minors in Anthropology and Ceramics and an MA from the Bard Graduate Center, New York, in Decorative Arts, Design History, & Material Culture. Vizcarrondo-Laboy was born and raised in Puerto Rico.