Artists

Benedict Carpenter (b. 1975)

Benedict Carpenter studied Sculpture at Chelsea College of Art (1994-1997) and at the Royal College of Art (1997-1999). In 1999 Ben won the Jean and Eric Cass scholarship and the Remet ‘Shaping the Future' art award.

Since winning the Jerwood Sculpture Prize in 2001 Ben has completed a major public commission for the Arts Council for Middlehaven, Middlesborough (2005) and exhibited nationally and internationally. He has held solo shows at the Henry Peacock Gallery, London (2003), The Queen of Hungary, Norwich (2004) and Galerie Ude, Gelsenkirchen (2005). Having been Senior Lecturer in Architecture, Art and Design at the University of East London until 2006, Ben is now Senior Lecturer in Sculpture at the University of Wolverhampton where he is also carrying out his own research work.

Fascinated by the challenge of fitting together individual components in sculpture, Carpenter cites precedents as diverse as Lego and Hans Bellmer's alarmingly distorted Surrealist dolls. He enjoys playing with a repertoire of forms and stresses that 'touch is a very important part of the sculptural process. It's not really encouraged now, but I'm very interested in citing a sense of touch through looking' (Artist's statement).

Select Bibliography

D. Barrett, Natural Dependency, exhibition catalogue, Jerwood Space, London, 1999.
M Benjamin, 'One Sensation After Another', Evening Standard, 5 November 1999.
R. Cork, Jerwood Sculpture Prize, exhibition catalogue, Jerwood Space, 2001.
R. Cork, 'Jerwood Sculpture Prize', The Times, 11 November 2002.
R. Cox, 'Universal Approval', The Scotsman, 19 February 2002.
M. Currah, Benedict Carpenter, Time Out, September 1999.
A Davies, 'Sculptor's Future in Good Shape', Birminghan Post, 1 July 2002.
A. Thorncroft, 'Universal Praise for Sculptor', Financial Times, 21 November 2001.