Biography

MFA  Sculpture, Rinehart School of Sculpture, Maryland Institute College of Art

BFA  Visual Art and Art History, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University

After Mike completed his BFA in visual art and art history at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Jersey, he went to Hohokus School of Technical Trades where he learned structural plate steel welding. Mike then worked at the Sculpture Foundation’s Johnson Atelier first as a sculpture technician and then as departmental supervisor of the fabrication department. Moving to Baltimore, Benevenia attended the Rinehart School of Sculpture at Maryland Institute College of Art, completing his MFA thesis informed by research on American Civil War medicine and prosthetics. Mike then moved to Lancaster PA to manage Millersville University’s art studios and teach. Upon receiving a Fulbright-Nehru research fellowship in 2019, Mike left Millersville University to study sculpture and Unani medicine in India. Mike lived and worked in New Delhi for seven months, learning about traditional Unani medicine at Jamia Hamdard University in Delhi, and the Ibn Sina Academy of Medieval Medicine and Science in Aligarh. Due to the Covid19 pandemic, Mike was obliged to leave India and to return to the States in early 2020. He is currently working at Rowan University as the studio technician for the art department. Mike’s current studio work continues to explore the history of medicine, as well as experimenting with stained glass and 3D modeling.

Homepage: mikebenevenia.com