Artist statement
My practice investigates architecture, urban spaces, and the city’s relationship to contemporary art practice. Working across painting, photography, installation, video, sound and curation, works and projects explore the transitory and contradictory nature of cities, and address the physicality and social history of urban spaces. Ideas and works originate through visiting sites of architectural and historical interest, taking photographs, filming, collecting sound, making notes, and walking - as an informed wandering.
Work in painting is generally large-scale on canvas and involves the use and application of industrial materials such as marble, limestone, brick and slate dusts and a variety of industrial paints – taking the subject matter direct to the canvas.
Between 1998 and 2005 my work concentrated on exploring areas of London, in particular the landscape along and around the A13, an arterial road that runs from Aldgate, East through Essex to Southend and Shoeburyness. Sprawling decaying industry, Docklands, huge programmes of construction, council estates, polluted nature, concrete, asphalt and the relentless flat bleakness of the road and its environs provides a wealth of material about cities, their entrances, exits, and their peripheries.
From the bottom looking upwards, to exclusive views from the heights - I am interested in the power in perspective, its illusory quality, its effect on the viewer, and its wider symbolism. Examining notions of progress, change, and dis-location, and discovering the lost forgotten and misplaced, works reflect a landscape in a continual synthetic flux.
From 2002-04 I undertook a number of walks and collaborative explorations with artist Jock McFadyen and writer Iain Sinclair exploring the A13 and its environs. The project culminated in the development of new works and the co-curation of the group exhibition ‘A13’, at the Wapping Project. This was funded and managed by the Architecture Foundation in 2004.
As part of the Vickers Art Award residency programme in 2005/06, I completed a new series of large-scale paintings and developed and extensive body of Polaroid images exploring the Industrial landscapes of Derbyshire. From the rural architecture of the Derbyshire quarries and mines, to major urban industrial (Rolls-Royce) sites in Derby, the large-scale paintings investigated the contrasts of the Derbyshire Industrial Landscape and aimed to raise questions about the changing landscapes of Britain. For this project I also undertook a short collaboration with poet, broadcaster and commentator Ian McMillan, whose resultant writing was published in the accompanying publication 'Helena Ben-Zenou - Industrial Relations'. This publication also included an essay by Robert Clark.
Since 2006 I have continued to explore landscape and architecture. This has enabled me to complete a number of significant projects in a range of locations from China to the USA. I am currently working on a painterly investigation of Blackpool researching, documenting and responding to 'The Architecture of Pleasure’.
Public realm
- 2008 ACEEM Outward Mission to SW China, various sites, Chongqing, SW China
Qualifications and training
- 2002 MFA Fine Art, Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London
- 1992 BA (Hons) Visual Art, University of Lancaster, Lancaster
Employment
- 2006 to 2012 Course Leader (jointly) Undergraduate Fine Art Programme, University of Nottingham, Nottingham
- 2006 to 2007 Associate Lecturer Fine Art, University of Lincoln, Lincoln
Solo exhibitions
- 2010 The Architecture of Pleasure, Blackpool & The Fylde University Gallery, Blackpool
- 2006 Industrial Relations, Buxton Museum & Art Gallery, Derbyshire
- 2006 Industrial Relations, Rolls-Royce LDC, Derby
- 2006 Helena Ben-Zenou: Industrial Relations, Derby Museum & Art Gallery, Derby
- 2000 Helena Ben-Zenou, part of Mappin Open Solo Shows, selected by Charles Esche & Paul Nesbitt, Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield
- 2000 Other Peoples Palaces, Year of the Artist, Bancroft Library, London E2
Group exhibitions
- 2012 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (invited artist), Royal Academy of Art, London
- 2012 Structure, Parndon Mill Gallery, Harlow
- 2010 Short Shorts, BBC screen, Millennium Square, Leeds
- 2009 Short Shorts (Video), 42 New Briggate Gallery, Leeds
- 2008 Cantilever Left, I-MYU Projects, London
- 2007 Group Exhibition (invited artist), Wirksworth Festival, Derbyshire
- 2007 Group Exhibition, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London
- 2007 Group Exhibition, Kensington & Chelsea Town Hall, London
- 2006 The Imposition, long-term exhibition of this commissioned painting, The Long Gallery, The Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Nottingham
- 2005 Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, Art London, London
- 2004 The Tower Block - Vertical Architecture, Clifford Chance, artists exhibiting include Artists exhibiting included, David Hepher, Rachel Whiteread, Julian Opie, Sarah Morris, Richard Galpin, Canary Wharf, London E14
- 2004 A13, The Wapping Project (An Architecture Foundation Exhibition), Exhibitors included Jock McFadyen, Iain Sinclair (writer), Tom de Paor (architect), Chris Petit (film maker/photographer), Anthony Gormley (sculptor), Susie Honeyman & Giles Perring (the Mekons), London E1
- 2004 Patrick Heide Art Projects, Art Frankfurt, Frankfurt
- 2002 Postgraduate Printmaking in London 2002, Clifford Chance, London
- 2002 East International 2002, Norwich Gallery, selected by Lawrence Weiner & Jack Wendler, Norwich
- 2002 DLA Art Award, Sarah Myerscough Fine Art, selectors include writer & critic John McEwen and artist Basil Beattie, London
- 2002 Four Colleges Exhibition - (organised by the RA Schools), AT Kearney, Berkeley Square, London
- 2001 New Bloomsbury's, Scarlett McGuire Gallery, Bloomsbury, London
- 2000 We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Poplar Baths, London E14, co-curator (with Laura Bruce) and exhibiting artist for this site-specific, fully funded, commission based exhibition, at the former Poplar Baths
- 1999 The Land Beyond the Blue (video screening), The Approach (curated by Dave Beech & Laura Bruce), Bethnal Green, London E2
- 1999 NatWest Art Prize 1999, Lothbury Gallery, selectors included Alister Warman, Marjorie Allthorpe-Guyton, Callum Innes, London
Artist talks
- 2010 Visiting Artist, School of Design, University of Leeds
- 2009 Open Seminar, Fylde Creatives, as part of BADept residency
- 2009 Lecture, Blackpool & The Fylde College, part of BADept residency
- 2007 Lecture, ILSTU Galleries, Illinois, USA
- 2007 Lecture, School of Art, University of Lincoln
- 2005 Art & Architecture, Privilege & Exclusion, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
- 2005 North of Watford - Regional, Remote, Rural opportunities, Flyfishing for Artists series, organised by ArtQuest & Space Studios, Space Studios, London
- 2004 The A13 and its Hidden Secrets, panel discussion with Iain Sinclair, Jock McFadyen and Rowan Moore, The Wapping Project, London
- 2002 The work of artist Ilya Kabakov, Norwich Gallery, as part of East International 2002, Norwich
Residencies
- 2008 Industrial Vacations, Blackpool Arts Department 2008-10, Blackpool
- 2007 Visiting Artist, Illinois State University, USA
- 2005 Vickers Art Award 2005/06, Derbyshire Community Foundation, Derby
- 2003 Research Project in Printmaking/Media, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London
- 2000 Year of the Artist Residency, Tower Hamlets, Tower Hamlets Central & Local History Library
- 1998 ACME Fire Station Live/Work Residency Scheme, ACME Fire Station, London E14
- 1998 Bridge 98 "Owergaeing", Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Aberdeenshire
Private commissions
- 2006 Large-scale exterior mural design commission, Rolls-Royce, Derby
Public commissions
- 2013 ACME 40th Anniversary Commission, www.acme.org.uk, London
- 2006 The Imposition (Prospect Room, Wollaton Hall, February 2006), Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Nottingham (more info)
- 2005 New Drawings for Collection, Wirksworth Festival, Derbyshire
Projects
- 2009 Participant in 'Method' - artist leadership development programme, Solar Associates, Cultural Leadership Programme, London
- 2004 Photography Commission, General Public Agency, Tilbury, Essex
- 1999 Co-curator (with Laura Bruce) of "We're Not in Kansas Anymore", Poplar Baths (a Wharf Watchers project), London E14
Competitions, prizes and awards
- 2008 Residency Award, Blackpool Arts Dept (supported by Arts Council England - North West & Blackpool City Council), Blackpool
- 2007 Project Award, Juliet Gomperts Trust, London
- 2005 Vickers Art Award 2005/06, Derbyshire Community Foundation, Derby
- 2001 Artist Bursary, Woo Foundation, London
- 2001 Duveen Travel Award, Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, London
- 2000 Project Award, Tower Hamlets Borough Council, London
- 2000 Year of the Artist Award, Arts Council England, London
- 2000 Project Award, The National Lottery, through the Arts Council England
- 1999 Project Award, Arts Council England, London
- 1999 Natwest Art Prize 1999 (highly commended entry), Lothbury Gallery, London
Publications
- 2012 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition catalogue
- 2006 Helena Ben-Zenou: Industrial Relations, Catalogue, with new writing by Ian McMillan and essay by Robert Clark, published by Derbyshire Community Foundation ISBN-13: 978-0955223105
- 2002 East International 2002, catalogue, with essays by Lawrence Weiner & Linda Morris, Norwich Gallery, published by Norwich Gallery, ISBN 10: 1 872482 61 9
- 2002 DLA Art Award Catalogue, Sarah Myerscough Gallery, London
- 2002 Four Colleges Exhibition, AT Kearney, London
- 2001 ACME Fire Station Residency Programme, 1997 - 2001
- 2000 Helena Ben-Zenou (Mappin Open, Solo Show)
- 1999 The NatWest Art Prize 1999, catalogue, with essay by Tim Marlow, The NatWest Group Art Collection, London, ISBN-10: 0 9530 716 7X
- 1998 Owergaeing, catalogue, Bridge 98, Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Aberdeenshire, Published by Scottish Sculpture Workshop ISBN-10: 0 9528901 2 9
Other
- 2009 Collection, New Art Gallery Walsall, Walsall
- 2006 Collection, Nottingham Castle Museum & Art Gallery, Nottingham
- 2006 Collection, Vickers Art Collection, Derbyshire Community Foundation, Derbyshire
- 2002 Collection, AT Kearney, London
- 1991 Collection, Brahm Gallery, Leeds
Web links - gallery/work/projects
Web links - article/press
