Benzant’s Art Explores the Unexplorable

M.A. Dworkin

St. Croix - Leonardo Benzant is an artist who believes the human psyche is made up of multiple personalities. He has no problem in walking a dangerous artistic tightrope to bring those multiple personalities onto his canvas. In the process, he forces the viewer to go along with him and believe this is the natural order of the human condition. Of course, you can laugh him off, call him a madman or an artistic genius if you like, but if you follow him down his rabbit hole of wild creativity, you just might find yourself reexamining your entire outlook on what makes people tick. 

His new exhibit, Between the Mist & Shadow, which opened recently at CMCArts in Frederiksted, uncovers the complexities of this intriguing genius by allowing him to sensationalize the inner workings of the human mind to such a startling extent, that if we let him in, really let him in, we may never be able to relate to ourselves or others in the same way again.

In this respect, Mr. Benzant has not only won a small victory of man versus creativity, but he has positioned himself as something of a combination Svengali, Freud and Wizard of Oz all rolled up into his wickedly drawn portraits.

In his work, Woman As ShapeShifter, oil, acrylic and sand on canvas, Mr Benzant seems to take a stick of dynamite and explode the entire human form, the mind, the body, the soul. He challenges us to try and put the pieces back together again. Or is he telling us, “Leave it this way, this is how it belongs.”

In Until the Sun Sets You Are Safe, oil and acrylic on paper, we see a portrait of what appears to be the expanding mind of a man, taking in the world one giant leap at a time, exploring, questioning, wondering where he has been and where he is going. It is shocking in its introspective vision. But try and pass it by and not think about what goes on in your own mind. Good luck with that.

In Mr. Benzant’s Of His Bones Blood and Stories, acrylic and soft pastel on paper, we are simply knocked for a loop off our center base. This painting is so shocking, so mind-bending in its implications of where this person has been in life, what roads of horror and delight he has seen, that we can hardly catch our breath as we examine it in detail.    

His Seven Nights Always Return To One Beginning, oil on paper, brings home the hardened life of a woman who has fought the good fight and very possibly has either won or lost. She is disheveled, perhaps partially broken, but nevertheless defiant in her battle to keep her dignity. She is woman, hear her proud!

Perhaps the piece de resistance of Mr. Benzant’s show, From Suns and Stars Down To The Gongolo II (A Mountain Of A Woman Across AfroSpanglish Nights in Saint Croix And Holding A Valley In Her Hair), oil, conte and soft pastel on paper,    

is clearly this stunning portrait of a Diva. The Chaka Khan lips, the flowing Beyonce hair, the winning look, you can almost hear her belting out her latest platinum hit! Here lies the power of all women. Sex, Intelligence, Creative Talent. No man can do what she does. No man can excite the masses like she can. She is the raisin d’etre. She is what makes the world go round!

Leonardo Benzant describes himself as an artist who bridges the spiritual and the material realities of the African Diaspora. No doubt this is true. But he is also an artist who explores the depths of the human mind, reaches in deep to find what colors inhabit our soul, splashes his brush strokes across our subconscious and wakes up our inner selves. And for this we must be grateful that he has reached out and explored the unexplorable.

The Curator for Between The Mist & Shadow was Tatiana Flores. Ms. Flores is an Art Historian who specializes in modern and contemporary Latin American, Caribbean, and Latinx art. She is the author of the award-winning monograph Mexico’s Revolutionary Avant-Gardes. She curated the critically acclaimed Relational Undercurrents: Contemporary Art of the Caribbean Archipelago, which featured over eighty artists with roots in the insular Caribbean.

All-in-all, it is necessary to give a big round of applause to the folks at CMCArts for continuing to stir our imaginations with one brilliant exhibition after another. They light up the creative skies above Frederiksted and form the artistic hub of St. Croix. Where would the right side of the Crucian brain be without their thoughtful contributions.

It was another beautiful night on the waterfront of Strand Street. The food was a gastronomical delight, presented by Alba’s Bar & Restaurant, the wonderful family friendly spot on King Street in F’sted. Sweet n’ Sour wings, beef & saltfish pates, deliciously flavored chicken fingers and to-die-for seafood stuffed testones.

The music by Khadijo Kwabena played the inspiring sounds of the Bata Drums (West African drums by way of Nigeria) inside the gallery space, which spun the entire exhibit to another level of artistic value.

Up on the pier the USS Gettysburg warship was docked, taking R&R from its assignment around Venezuela. But you could almost hear Joel Grey shouting out his iconic line from the movie Cabaret:

“Leave your troubles outside! Life is disappointing? Forget it! In here, life is beautiful…The girls are beautiful...Even the orchestra is beautiful!”

Ah yes, thank goodness for the sanctuary of CMCArts. Leonardo Benzant: Between the Mist & Shadow, closes on April 4, 2026.