CV

Commissions & Awards

2025

Monumental lobby sculpture commission  - Hines; New York, NY

Post-9/11 Fallen Service Memorial Finalist Shortlist (one of four); Queens, NY    

2024

Gateway to the Dominick Street Art Walk commission – winner of national competition; City of Rome, NY

2023

Clinton Presidential Center commission - winner of international competition for the new Anne Frank Memorial; Little Rock, AR

2021

Mother Cabrini Memorial Finalist Shortlist (one of three); New York, NY

2022

“Power of Possibility” commission - winner of national competition for Dakota Wesleyan’s new campus sculpture to honor the Women of Wesleyan, past/present/future; Mitchell, SD

2019

Turchin Center for the Visual Arts; Boone, NC - 35th Rosen Sculpture Competition 1st Place Award

 2016

Art Encounters Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition of Highlands Ranch; Douglas County, CO; Judges Choice Winner

2014

Las Vegas Veterans Memorial Finalist Shortlist (one of three); Las Vegas, NV

2011

Fairfield University St. Ignatius Memorial Sculpture – winner of international competition for new monumental campus sculpture; Fairfield, CT

The Fashion District Pilings Project – winner of national competition for temporary summer public art installation in the pedestrian plazas below Times Square; sponsored by the Garment District Alliance and NYC DOT Arterventions Program; New York, NY

2010

Helmsley Building lobby bronze wall murals – Hired to sculpt and supervise production and installation of 30 linear feet of 6-foot high, ½” deep bronze relief sculpture depicting historic trains and city skylines with approval from Landmarks Commission; New York, NY

2007

MFA Sculpture, New York Academy of Art, 2007 - New York NY

2006

Sculpture House Outstanding Achievement Award

2005

Vietnam Veteran’s War Memorial commission – sculptor of winning team for national monument competition for the Nassau County Vietnam Veterans; 12-foot tall bronze, granite, and cement sculpture honoring the bond between all those who served; Eisenhower State Park - Long Island, NY

Exhibitions

2025

Voyages Immobiles Gallery Show; Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA

110th Anniversary Gallery Exhibition; Studio Shop Gallery, Burlingame, CA

2024

NYAA Summer Exhibition at Forum Gallery; New York, NY

Falling for Art Gallery Show; Studio Shop Gallery; Burlingame, CA

Sculpture Walk Public Art Exhibition; Peoria, IL

Sculpture on the Lawn Public Art Exhibition; Orlando, FL

2023

New York City Art in the Parks Public Art Exhibition; Finn Square Park (Tribeca); New York, NY

2022

Artscape 6 Public Art Exhibition; Fayetteville, NC

18th Annual City of Olathe Downtown Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit; Olathe, KS

2021

Haute Sculpture Gallery Show; Studio Shop Gallery; Burlingame, CA

El Paseo Public Art Sculpture Exhibition; City of Palm Desert, CA

2020

Sculpture on the Move Public Art Exhibition; Gladstone, MO

2019

Sculpture Walk Springfield Public Art Exhibition; Springfield, MO

Art on the Streets Public Art Exhibition; Colorado Springs, CO

2017

Pikes Peak Community College Sculpture Installation – permanent acquisition of “Breathe” sculpture to mark entrance of Marie Walsh Sharpe Studios; Colorado Springs, CO

Art in Public Places Public Art Exhibition; Knoxville, TN

2016

Art on the Streets Public Art Exhibition; Colorado Springs, CO

Sculpture Walk Springfield Public Art Exhibition; Springfield, MO

2015

Cast in Light: Landscape Reflections Solo Exhibition - temporary public art installation of seventeen large scale sculptures throughout grounds and floating in the duck pond of large public park - Rye Town Park; Rye, NY

The Arnot Art Museum 75th Regional Juried Exhibition; Elmira, NY

St. Joseph Sculpture Walk public Art Exhibition; St. Joseph, MO

Art on the Lawn Outdoor Sculpture Installation; Rye Arts Center; Rye, NY

2014

Distrikt Hotel public art, sponsored by the Garment District Alliance Arts Program – installation of 11-foot tall “Breathe” sculpture on sidewalk in front of midtown Manhattan hotel entrance for one year; New York, NY

ArtHamptons Fair + Nova’s Ark Park sculpture installation; Bridgehampton, NY

2012

Beyond Rodin: Contemporary Figurative Sculpture exhibition – installation of ten sidewalk sculptures throughout the downtown and on art center lawn; Rye Arts Center; Rye, NY

L.A. LIVE sculpture installation in Nokia Plaza/Staples Center – installation of twenty resin sculptures in the plaza and marking the entrance to Affordable Art fair; Los Angeles, CA

Documentary

“Power of Possibility: The Impact of Public Art in South Dakota Communities”, 2024; featured on South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB), the sculpture was the inspiration for this documentary about the importance of public art in SD communities; directed by Anna Marie Thatcher and Periaktos Productions, funded by the South Dakota Humanities Council

“Creating a Large Resin Sculpture”, by Smooth-on, Inc. documenting the creation of Joan Benefiel’s 11-foot tall “Breathe” sculpture

“In His Image”, a documentary by Fairfield University on the creation of the newly commissioned campus sculpture by artists Joan Benefiel & Jeremy Leichman

Select Press

South Dakota Humanities Council, June 22, 2024; Documentary, Conversations to Address Public Art Impact

The Tribeca Citizen, May 10, 2023; Art in Tribeca: Hoodoos by Joan Benefiel

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 16, 2023; Benefiel Selected to Create New Clinton Center Sculpture

Cover story of Wesleyan Today, Winter 2022-23; Dedication of Joan Benefiel’s “Power of Possibility”

Fox News, 2017; New Statue installed on Pikes Peak Community College downtown campus

The Rye Record, 2015; The Landscape Just Got A Lot More Interesting   

The New York Times, 2012; The Human Form Unleashed

New York Garment District Alliance News, 2011; Announces Joan Benefiel’s Figurations Garment District Summer Public Art Installation

The Architect’s Newspaper Blog, 2010; Full Steam Ahead

The New York Times, 2005; At Last, A Monument to Vietnam Veterans