Benedita Kendall

Benedita Kendall (Porto, 1971) graduated in Fine Art (Painting) from the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto, where she later completed a Master's degree in Drawing Practices and Theories. She complemented her training with studies at the International Sommer Akademie in Salzburg, attending the Human Figure Drawing course led by Jim Dine, and subsequently developed work in the fields of lithography, drawing and artistic research.

Throughout her career she has combined artistic practice, teaching and research, working as a Visual Arts teacher, tutor and collaborator on various educational and curatorial projects. Her work reveals a sustained practice of reflection on drawing, painting, memory and visual construction, frequently bringing together personal narratives, intimate spaces and the observation of everyday life.

Since the 1990s she has regularly presented solo and group exhibitions, notably in her continued relationship with Galeria São Mamede, where she has held several solo exhibitions, among them Vestígios de Intimidades (2005), Superfície-Pele (2006), Histórias Improváveis (2008), Arquitectura da Memória (2013), Narrativas Sobrepostas (2018) and Cenários do Quotidiano (2021). She has also taken part in national and international biennials, prizes and fairs, including multiple participations in the Bienal de Cerveira, Arte Lisboa and Art Madrid.

She has received several prizes over the course of her career, among them 1st Prize at the VI Bienal de Pintura Eixo Atlântico (2004/05), the Prémio Águas do Minho e Lima at the Bienal de Cerveira (2003) and an exchange grant awarded by the Fundação da Juventude in the Concurso Nacional dos Jovens nas Artes. Her work is held in institutional and private collections, including the Fundação da Juventude, the Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto, the Universidade de Aveiro and the Eixo Atlântico do Noroeste Peninsular.