The next time you’re waiting for cup of joe at The Mill, take note of the new installation by Bay Area artist Drew Bennett. Entitled “Surf & Turf”, it’s made up of a combination of line drawings and oil paintings. Last night’s opening reception, fueled by pizza and soul music, drew a large crowd, and we were able to catch up with the artist and talk some shop.
Bennett, originally from the Chicago area, moved to San Francisco in 2005 and currently resides in Oakland. He’s the director of the Artist in Residency Program at Facebook, which means that he curates the art installed throughout the company's Palo Alto campus.
His last show, an interactive installation at the Berkeley Art Museum, consisted of an outdoor shower which he built in the courtyard and encouraged museum patrons to actually use. This blending of community and aquatics is a theme found in the “surf” element of his current show.
“The paintings are meant to shared," Bennett told us. "I’m expressing values that I want to share with people, things that are important to me, like personal time, social time, and time in and around water. Water is the element I’m most connected to.”
The oil paintings on display are made on a variety of surfaces, including wood, cardboard, butcher paper, tissue paper, and canvas. They are all painted from photos taken by Bennett and his friends, as well as ones he found online. In fact, Bennett told us that his studio is covered with hundreds of different photos he uses as inspiration for his work.
As for the “turf” element, you can also find a collection of plein air (“open air) nature drawings he’s made over the past three years, housed in custom frames made by Andrew Sweeney. Serving as a contrast to the paintings composed entirely in his home studio, these observational line drawings were all made in the great outdoors. “The landscape drawing is a meditation, so it’s more of an inward practice,” he told us. “The process of doing it is the value. It’s a private, personal, grounding experience for me.”
Bennett is a longtime friend of Josey Baker, who told us he's excited to host Bennett's work at The Mill. "I’m flattered that Drew wanted to surround us with his art,” Josey told us. “I think it nicely represents all the different facets of Drew’s soul.”
All of the pieces are available for purchase directly through the artist, along with a limited-edition, handmade and hand-assembled book of the landscape drawings. Drawings are also available without the frames for a reduced price. If you're interested, contact Drew Bennett at iamdrewbennett [at] gmail [dotcom]. The show will be up through January 2015.
