Education
She has her first Master of Fine Arts in painting and a second Master of Fine Arts in Theater set design.
She has her first Master of Fine Arts in painting and a second Master of Fine Arts in Theater set design.
Siona Benjamin is a painter originally from Bombay, now living in the United States. In her paintings she combines the imagery of her past with the role she plays in America today, making a mosaic inspired by both Indian miniature paintings and Sephardic icons. She has exhibited in the United States, Europe and Asia. She has been recently awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2010-2011 for art project titled Faces: Weaving Indian Jewish Narratives.
Research for this project has been conducted in India.
The first exhibit is planned for October 2013 at the Prince of Wales museum in Mumbai, India. Her work has been featured in: The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Financial Times, The Jewish Week in New York City and New Jersey, The Boston Globe, Art in America, Art New England, Art and Antiques, ArtNews, Moment magazine, and several news papers, magazines, journals, and books
Growing up in India, assimilation was expected in much of her daily life, and so “identity” and “mutual understanding” became major themes in Benjamin’s art Her culturally diverse background informs her approach to art
Her work is influenced by biblical subject matter, reflections on gender and an interest in Midrashic process.
Much of her imagery reflects Indian mythology in an effort to reveal what shapes both physical and spiritual identity. Also at the core of her work is an ecumenical and empathetic spirit that comes from the very core of Jewish experience. Tikkun olam
Few things are more cherished in Jewish tradition than tikkun olam, which translates to “mending the world”.
Observant Jews practice tikkun olam every day in their thoughts and actions.
As Abraham Joshua Herschel has posed when asked, “Who is a Jew?” he replied: “A Jew is a person whose integrity decays when unmoved by the knowledge of wrong done to other people”. Through study and reflection, Benjamin has made tikkun olam central to her art
She lives in New Jersey.