The Mage's Pantry

Some of the seemingly nostalgic works by Matthew Benedict (born 1968 in Rockville, Connecticut) recall illustrations from old children's books, with pirates, saints, and freemasons recurrently populating his paintings, photographs, embroidered pieces, and sculptures. The quiet, beautiful, and yet uncanny dream world of his symbolic figures, and his allegorical references to literature or history, may elude comprehension in the mind of the uninitiated observer. Magical and enigmatic, these captivating works seduce the viewer's eye while their meaning and pictorial agendas share and reveal their mysteries. This is the first monograph to examine Matthew Benedict's entire oeuvre, as well as its references to illustrative and decorative conventions and techniques.