Rachel Bensimon
Born in Toronto, Canada, Rachel Bensimon is an artist who explores the delicate balance between innocence and maturity, vulnerability, and strength. Her work captures the vibrant inner worlds of girls and young women, embracing both joy and darker themes through fantasy elements of the natural world and surrealism. Rachel's autobiographical portraits reflect the profound impact of childhood experiences on shaping identity, offering viewers a portal to rediscover their own memories and emotions.
Artist Statement
Through my art, I embark on a journey of exploring and expressing the vibrant inner worlds of girls and young women. I seek to capture the delicate balance between innocence and maturity, vulnerability and strength. My portraits reflect the profound impact that childhood experiences have on shaping our identities. By embracing the interplay of light and shadow through old master techniques, I aim to illuminate the joys, dreams, inevitable struggles, and complexities of youth, as well as the challenges that have shaped my own growth.
I also have a fascination with dolls, and in some of my work, a doll—the object of a little girl’s affection and idealization—is transformed by animating it with a life force, infused with its own personal voice and a complex endowment of emotions and personality. The contrast between innocence and sexuality is portrayed in a way that is both whimsical and disconcerting, hinting at the fleeting passage of time. I use antique dolls to paradoxically elicit a sense of nostalgia coupled with subversive sentimentality.
The influence of Balthus’s young girls and the incongruous mysticism surrounding the constructions and assemblages of surrealist Joseph Cornell are echoed in this particular series of paintings. Autobiographical in nature, the visual vocabulary I utilize expresses an inner dialogue between the eyes of my unique childhood experiences and the universal nature of innocence and purity associated with childhood in general. I seek to capture the delicate balance between innocence and maturity, vulnerability and strength. My portraits reflect the profound impact that childhood experiences have on shaping our identities.
The viewer is presented with a secret passageway through which they may experience their own childhood memories and emotions. Through my artwork, I invite viewers to reconnect with their own inner child, to reminisce, and to rediscover the resilience and beauty that lies within. I explore the duality of childhood, embracing both the moments of pure joy and the challenges that shape us. By expressing the musings of my inner child, my art invites viewers to reflect upon their own stories and rediscover the beauty and resilience within us all.
www.rachelbensimonfineart.com
