Mario Bencomo, Release, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24"

Mario Bencomo

(1953─present)

Mario Bencomo is a Cuban born artist. As a youth he was sent alone to live in Europe and from there, at the age of 14, he left Spain for the U.S., arriving alone in New York City in 1968. He never broke away from his original cultural links to Cuba or Spain, often returning to Europe for extended stays, adding his American education to his multicultural experience and work. In 1996 he returned to Cuba for the first time in almost three decades and since then Bencomo visits Cuba periodically. He is based in Miami. His work relates to various themes; the sensual ambiguity of form found in nature, mythology, mystical ecstasy, history and personal experience; often blurring the line between the spiritual from the sensual. A voracious reader, his work is also inspired by poetry.

Selected Collections:

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas, Austin
Denver Art Museum
The National Museum of Fine Arts of Havana, Cuba
Art Museum of the Americas, Washington, D.C.
Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis
Museo de Arte Maria Zambrano, Vélez-Málaga, Spain
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Lehigh University Art Galleries, Bethlehem, PA
Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, FL
NSU Museum of Art Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Muséo de Arte Contemporáneo, Panamá, Panama
Polk Museum of Art, Lakeland, FL
The Noyes Museum of Art, Stockton University, NJ
Mizel Museum, Denver
State University of New York, College at Cortland
Frost Art Museum, Miami, FL
El Museo del Barrio, New York
Muséo de Las Américas, Denver
CINTAS Foundation Fellows Collection, Miami Dade College Museum of Art + Design, Miami
Miami Art in Public Places, Miami
Miami Public Library Art Collection
American Express Art Collection
Banco Exterior de España Art Collection
Bank of Boston Art Collection
Cabot Corporation Art Collection
Eastern National Bank Art Collection
General Mills Corporation Art Collection
Hoover International Art Collection
Lloyds Bank International Art Collection
Reynolds Tobacco Corporation Art Collection
SunTrust Art Collection
The Chase Manhattan Bank Art Collection