Artist Statement
Half-breed, South Texan, queer, figurative sculptor specializing in the piñata form; playing on themes of race, sexuality, art, sin, humor, ephemerality and beauty.
Biography
Roberto Benavidez is a sculptor specializing in the piñata form. Prior to the piñata form he worked in metal-casting in an abstract figurative style. Benavidez exhibited his bronze works in group shows and received two merit-based art scholarships from Pasadena City College. Longing for more accessible materials, Benavidez switched to paper and focused on the piñata technique. Benavidez plays with the underlying themes of race and sin innate in the piñata, layered with his identity as a mixed-race queer artist, with a focus on impeccable craftsmanship. His most notable series, Piñatas of Earthly Delights, is based on the fanciful creatures that roam Hieronymus Bosch’s, The Garden of Earthly Delights, and was exhibited at the AD&A Museum on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. Benavidez’s sculptures have been featured in national, international and on-line publications, including ARTnews, Artsy, Atlas Obscura, hifructose.com, Hyperallergic, Politiken, The Guardian, The New York Times and This Is Colossal. He has exhibited his work in numerous group and solo shows, including at Craft In America, Mesa Contemporary Art Museum, Art Design & Architecture Museum at USB and Palo Alto Art Center, to name a few. Benavidez’s Javelina Girl (Illuminated Piñata No. 14) was featured on the cover of The New York Times, Fine Arts & Exhibits section on October 23, 2022 .
Solo Exhibitions
2025 Abstract Piñata, Wasserman Works, Detroit, MI
2023 In the Garden: Piñatas, Diana Berger Gallery, Mt. San Antonio College, Walnut, CA
2019 Medieval Piñata, Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, Mesa, AZ
2019 Piñatas of Earthly Delights, AD&A Museum, Santa Barbara, CA
2018 Illuminated Piñata, CuratorLove, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Illuminated Piñata, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX
2015 Serrate, LA County Store, Los Angeles, CA
2015 Serrate, Salvage Vanguard Gallery, Austin, TX
2009 Sugar Skull Piñatas, Art For Empty Walls, Los Angeles, CA
Group Exhibitions
2025 Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM
2024 Crossing the Line: The Passport Re-Imagined, BIMA, Bainbridge Island, WA
2024 Passion For Paper, Strohl Art Center, Chautaqua, NY
2023 The Possibilities of Paper, Torggler Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA
2023 Lagomorphs: Rabbits and Hares in Contemporary Craft, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
2023 LatinX Voices, Woodstock Arts, Woodstock, GA
2023 Enormous Tiny Art, Nahcotta, Portsmouth, NH
2022 Piñatas: The High Art of Celebration, Mingei Museum, San Diego, CA
2022 ¿Quién(es) Rompe(n) las Piñatas?, Museo de Arte Y Diseño Contemporáneo, San Jose, Costa Rica
2022 Division of Birds, Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2022 Paper Show, Heron Arts, San Francisco, CA
2022 Aviary, Loft at Liz’s, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Through the Winter, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX
2021 Piñatas: The High Art of Celebration, Craft In America, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Brand 49, Brand Library & Art Center, Glendale, CA
2021 Spirit, Gold Bug, Pasadena, CA
2021 The Art of Paper, Pearl Fincher Museum of Fine Arts, The Woodlands, TX
2021 LA Scenes & LA Made, Craft in America-LAX, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Love 20/20, Gold Bug, Pasadena, CA
2020 Cut, Fold, and Handmade: The Art of Paper, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA
2019 Ancestral Lights, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA
2019 Seattle Weed Pot Invitational, Orcas Paley, Seattle, WA
2019 Encounters: Honoring the Animal In Ourselves, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
2019 Tooth and Claw, Terminal 136, San Antonio, TX
2019 Beast, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2019 Common Bonds: Artists & Architects on Community, AD&A Museum, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
2018 3-D! Pop-up, Schoolhouse Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2018 Pialli, CuratorLove, Los Angeles, CA
2018 Per Diem, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX
2018 Et Tu, Art Brute?, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, NY
2017 Crossing Boundaries: Engendering LGBTQ Identities, Avenue 50 Studio, Los Angeles, CA
Biennials
2024 The Journey of Life, Homo Faber, Venice, Italy