We Are Art People in conversation with Todd Bienvenu

Todd Bienvenu is a painter, living in Brooklyn, New York. His paintings are a reflection of his biographical universe — they are thick, direct and humorous. Resourcing images from his daily life and occurrences, his paintings feature tattooed rockers, beach bums, urban crashes and mosh pits. It is life in motion.

We discuss the journey of making comic books during his adolescence, to navigating a life as a painter in New York, contending with the materiality of paint and paper in the studio or making a tiny pizza delivery man, reminiscent of his early days riding around Brooklyn. Todd is represented by Almine Rech and Galerie Sébastien Bertrand, in Geneva. He has exhibited work internationally, in Hong Kong, London, New York, Brussels and Switzerland. In 2018, he was recognized and received an award from the American Academy of Art & Letters, for excellence in painting, conferred by Peter Saul.

Links:

@toddbienvenu

https://www.alminerech.com/artists/358-todd-bienvenu

https://sebastienbertrand.com/artist/todd-bienvenu

https://www.artsy.net/artist/todd-bienvenu

Show notes:

Little Rock, Arkansas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock,_Arkansas

Romare Bearden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romare_Bearden

Aaron Michael Skolnick https://www.marchgallery.org/exhibitions/the-entertainer/

Hannah Rowan https://www.hannah-rowan.com/

Bill jensen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Jensen

*Poetry*

Wave of Blood [2025] p.66 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariana_Reines

Pioneer Works, Brooklyn https://pioneerworks.org/

You might have to feel it to believe me

To believe how wretched I was but also

How determined. Poetry isn't a profession

A person simply goes into. You have

To be fucked up to do this and especially

To stay. It does not attract the best

Or the brightest. We are some of the most

Sanctimonious low-attention-span narcissists

Around. But it gave me my life

Which I had a longing to see naked

And it held me up to living

In a very naked way

And showed me breathing

And gave me space

To find my way ...

Follow @weareartpeople

Sign up to our newsletter www.weareartpeople.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.