Paul Belenky
MFA ’17 Fine Arts 2D
In my practice, I take on the identity of a made up persona, currently adopting the role of the developer behind “Tender Farms,” a corporate concept for a robot petting zoo set in a post animal future. I usually develop my ideas and personas by finding a mundane phenomenon like the petting zoo, and reversing it or corrupting it into something unusual, like putting a chicken back into an egg. I then work in drawing, sculpture and video to create artifacts from the reality of my adopted persona. In my most recent work, I find inspiration from existing blueprints. I draw and color over these good ideas from the past, superimposing them with my own ridiculous logic. These blueprints then serve as loose guides in the creation of sculptures, pseudo functional machines, and paintings. I tinker and bodge together objects that exist on the edge of clever and stupid, combining both analog and pragmatic constructions with electrical and digital components.
Paul Belenky grew up in the Boston area. He completed his undergraduate education at Brandeis University, where he pursued dual majors in biology and visual art. Subsequently, he earned a Master of Fine Arts from Mass Art. Currently, Paul teaches visual art at Lexington High School , he maintains an active studio practice in Waltham, Massachusetts.
