Closing reception: Wednesday June, 30 2010 7-10pm

I’m Al Benkin, a 21st century punk folk artist.  I paint stories through my perspective being a queer punk with vagabond tendencies, a crush on life and the unknown.

The meat of my work is humans interacting, living and struggling in this time: HERE AND NOW. Layers of comedy, tragedy, love, rebellion, transcendence, perversity, timelessness, and communication without words is what I want to convey and practice doing.

Found objects , like broken guitars, scraps of wood metal and plastic are canvases as well as happy ghosts. Their history inspires me to trace the cracks, glue, nail, screw, paint and manipulate it all together and have it metamorphosize into it’s new self.