Kevin Benham is trained as an architect and landscape architect. His research and work focus on landscape phenomena and the temporal qualities inherent in the discipline. To that end, he produces temporal and ephemeral installations that elucidate phenomena requiring careful observation through space and time.
At MacDowell, Benham worked with the weather, ice, and snow to create installations on site that acted as a datum to reveal changes in meteorological conditions over the course of his residency. He used an Ice Spud and Finnish Ice Saw to sever MacDowell’s fire pond (a small pond on the grounds) in half as an homage to Gordon Matta-Clark. The resulting work, Bifurcated Pond (for Gordon Matta-Clark) repeatedly froze and thawed and these changes were recorded within the piece as vestiges of subtle changes in the weather.
