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The Portal Art Gallery | About the Artists
Located in the thoroughfare through Bakery Office One from Bakery Square Boulevard to East Liberty Boulevard, The Portal Art Gallery is a space dedicated to showcasing captivating, local artwork. In partnership with ZYNKA Gallery, the program is set to grow further, fostering ongoing collaboration with the community and showcasing an array of talented artists.
The exhibits are changed throughout the year and all of the art in the gallery is for sale. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to the Larimer Consensus Group.
More information on the Art Gallery here.
Benjamin Gavin
Born in Guyana, South America and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Gavin Benjamin received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Benjamin spent many years working in New York City with commercial photographers, printers, and editors. His work has appeared at the Slick Paris, Sotheby’s NY, Architectural Digest Home Design Show, Art Hampton, Affordable Art Fair, Scope Miami, Palm Beach Modern, Context Miami, Context NY, Art Silicon Valley, and the LA Art Fair.
Recent exhibitions include Zynka Gallery (Pittsburgh, PA), Walker Fine Arts (Boulder, CO), BR Galleries (Columbus, OH), Pittsburgh Glass Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art (Pittsburgh, PA), Contemporary Craft (Pittsburgh, PA). His first solo museum exhibition at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art was in 2022. He is also the recipient of the Eben Demarest Award.
gavinbenjamin.com | @gavinbenjamin
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2022 - Break Down and Let It All Out, Westmoreland Museum Greensburg, PA
2022 - Heads of State, The McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown, OH
2020 - Downtown Renown: Pittsburgh Sports Greats, Presented by the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh, PA
2020 - Heads of State, BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2016 - Spring Lurks Like Snakes Under Flowers, Artists Image Resource, Pittsburgh, PA
2011 - Legacy, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris, France
2011 - Slick Paris, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris, France
2010 - It Might as well be Spring, Jonathan Burden LLC, New York City, NY
2008 - Thrillers and Flowers, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris, France
2007 - Double Feature, Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Group Exhibitions
2024 - Bloom: A Group Exhibition Celebrating Spring, Merritt Gallery, Chevy Chase, MD2023 - Wonderland, Brandt-Roberts Galleries, Columbus, OH
2023 - Playlist, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2023 - The Grandeur of Power (Juried by Eric Shiner), Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2023 - Food Justice, The Gallery at Penn College, Williamsport, PA
2023 - Food Justice, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2022-23 - Featured Artists Exhibition, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2022 - The Constructed Body, McDonough Museum of Art, Youngstown, OH
2022 - Headspace, Zynka Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2022 - Fashion is Art, BR Galleries, Columbus, OH
2022 - Food Justice, Southern Ohio Museum, Portsmouth, OH
2022 - Food Justice, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
2022 - Wild Narratives, Walker Fine Arts, Boulder, CO
2021 - Gathered Locally, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
2021 - More Is More, Akron Art Museum Columbus, OH
2021 - Fresh and Contemporary: Moving Forward, Houston Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX
2021 - Making Home Here, Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA
2021 - Food Justice, Society of Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA
2021 - Money, Labor, Capital, & Collage, Saint Kate-The Arts Hotel in Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
2021 - Summer Series, Brandt Roberts Galleries, Columbus, OH
2021 - History As Muse, Channel to Channel Gallery, Nashville, TN
2021 - 20th Year Anniversary Exhibition, BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2021 - More Than Pasted Paper: Conversations Through Contemporary Collage, 5 Points Art Gallery & Studios, Milwaukee, WI
2020 - 11th Year Anniversary Exhibition, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2020 - ASPIRE HOUSE PRINCETON, Parlor Gallery, Aspire Design and Home Magazine, Princeton, NJ
2020 - Darkest Before Dawn: Art in a Time of Uncertainty, Ethan Cohen Kube, Beacon, NY, USA
2020 - Wallpaper Diaries, Strohl and Fowler-Kellogg Art Centers, Chautauqua Institute, Chautauqua, NY
2019 - AD ART Show, MvVO Art, Oculus at the Westfield World Trade Center, New York City, NY
2019 - Current, Zynka Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2019 - Orange Crush, Parlor Gallery, Asbury Park, NJ
2018 - AD ART Show, MvVO Art, Sotheby’s New York, New York City, NY
2017 - Sarika Goulatia & Gavin Benjamin: Connect, Cohen and Grigsby Gallery, Zynka Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2014 - 34th Annual Photography Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2014 - Pittsburgh Biennial, Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2013 - 34th Annual Members Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2013 - Pittsburgh Biennial, Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
2013 - 33rd Annual Members Show, Carriage Barn Arts Center, New Canaan, CT
2012 - 2nd MADA New Media Festival, Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Miami, FL
2012 - Living Room, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris, France
2011 - Best of Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA
2011 - Legacy, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris, France
2011 - Slick Paris, Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani, Paris, France
2006 - Flowers Gone Wild, Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Pittsburgh, PA
2006 - Pinch Hitters, Space Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
2006 - Well Hung Chandeliers, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PA
2005 - Gestures, Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art, Pittsburgh, PA
2005 - Media Tonic 2, Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Pittsburgh, PA
2001 - Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
1993 - School of Visual Arts Mentor Show, Art Directors Club, New York City, NY
1992 - School of Visual Arts Mentor Show, Art Directors Club, New York City, NY
1990 - School of Visual Arts Gallery, New York City, NY
1988 - Scholastic, New York City, NY
1987 - Lever House, New York City, NY
1987 - YS Media Arts, Albany, NY
1987 - Sholastic, New York
1987 - Museum of Albany, Albany, NY
1987 - Soho Photo Gallery, New York City, NY
1986 - Soho Photo Gallery, New York City, NY
1986 - NYS Media Arts, Albany, NY
Art Fairs
2019 - LA Art Show, BoxHeart Gallery, Los Angeles, CA2019 - Aqua Art Miami Beach, BoxHeart Gallery, Miami, FL
2017 - Art Aspen, Cindy Lisica Gallery, Aspen, CO
2017 - Austin Art Fair, Cindy Lisica Gallery, Austin, TX
2017 - Fine Wind, Clear Morning, Cindy Lisica Gallery, Houston,TX
2017 - Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary, Connect Contemporary, Palm Beach, FL
2016 - Architectural Digest Home + Design Show, Connect Contemporary, New York City, NY
2016 - Context Art Miami, Connect Contemporary, Miami, FL
2016 - Context Art New York, Connect Contemporary, New York City, NY
2014 - Art Hamptons, Lawrence Cantor Fine Art, Bridgehampton, NY
2014 - Scope Miami Beach, Lawrence Cantor Fine Art, Miami, FL
Awards & Residencies
2021 - The Eben Demarest Award, The Pittsburgh Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA Artist in Residence, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Greensburg, PAAffiliations & Projects
Current - Board Member & Programming Committee, Pittsburgh Glass Center, Pittsburgh, PACurrent - Board Member Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
2020 - Creative Director, FREE TO BE ME: A Portrait Series Celebrating Black Girls, Presented by FASHION AFRICANA, O’Reilly Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
2016 - Collaborator on set design and Costumes of THE WIZ LIVE!: The work of Paul Tazewell, Presented by FASHION AFRICANA, August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Pittsburgh, PA
1989-92 - Photographic Printer, LTI Labs, New York City, NY
Selected Articles & Reviews
2023 - Erika Butler Jones, “Gavin Benjamin Offers a Reimagining of Black Subject-Hood and Proprietorship in Southwestern Pennsylvania”, Elephant, June 16, 20232023 - Patricia Sheridan, “Let it All Out: Westmoreland Exhibition Brings Outsiders in for Intimate Portraits”, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, February 9, 2023 Shaheen Qureshi, “Some of Us are Invisible to the Rest of the World”, The Bunker Review, January, 2023
2022 - Bill O’Driscoll, “Widening the Frame: Pittsburgh Artist’s Portrait Series Focused on Black People in Greensburg”, 90.5 WESA, October, 2022
Anna Mirzayan, “Artist Find Creative Ways to Raise Food Insecurity Awareness”, HYPERALLERGIC, January 2022
2021 - Bill O’Driscoll, “Pittsburgh artist explores Black cultural legacies through collage and photography”, 90.5 WESA October, 2021
2021 - Kolaj and Ric Kasini Kadour, “The Money Show: Cash, Labor, Capitalism, & Collage”, KASINI HOUSE/ART SHOP, September, 2021
2021 - Ric Kasini Kadour Kolaj #3, “Bending History”, KASINI HOUSE/ART SHOP, Spring 2021
2021 - Lauren Davidson, “For 20 Years, Pittsburgh Glass Center Has Benn Attracting the Makers”, Pittsburgh Magazine November, 2021
2020 - Joanne Klimovich Harrop, “See artwork of Pittsburgh sports icons in Downtown window displays”, Tribune–Review, 24 October 2020.
2020 - Kristy Locklin, “14 local sports figures are now works of art in Downtown Renown”, NEXTPittsburgh, 21 October 2020.
2007 - Mary Thomas, “TRAF Exhibition puts its Best Foot Forward”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7 June 2007.
2006 - Mary Thomas, “Flowers Gone Wild at Center for the Arts”, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 7 June 2006.
2006 - Kurt Shaw, “Ethereal Combinations”, Tribune–Review, 12 January 2006.
2005 - Kurt Shaw, “Site-specific exhibition makes good use of Mattress Factory’s Fourth Floor”, Tribune–Review, 23 June 2005
