As we routinely cover the Bennett Prize finalists, winners and associated exhibitions, by now most of our readers probably know that the award, endowed by art collectors Steven Alan Bennett and Dr. Elaine Melotti Schmidt at the Pittsburgh Foundation, aims to help women figurative realist painters realize their full potential for professional recognition. The winner receives $25,000 each year for two years, during which time she focuses on creating a new body of work for a solo show.

Since its inception, there have been three recipients of the bi-annual Bennett Prize. Aneka Ingold won the inaugural award in 2019; followed by Ayana Ross in 2021 and, most recent to join their ranks, Shiqing (Demo) Deng, in 2023.

Aneka Ingold, Serenity, mixed media on panel, 12 x 12”  All three artists are at different stages of receiving the Bennett Prize. Ingold has completed the cycle of the award; Ross’ solo show is currently traveling with the work by the 10 finalists announced in 2023; and Deng is creating the paintings for her show that will travel with the 10 finalists that will be announced in May 2025.

Aneka Ingold, Melancholia, acrylic on panel, 48 x 40"  

According to the Bennett Prize website, “the 18 finalists and two winners have seen up to a 45 percent increase in prices they are able to command for their work, more than 100 paintings sold, eight gallery representations, 19 solo shows and 46 group shows [and]…have been featured in more than 30 published stories, 250 advertisements and in 2,500 social media posts.”

Aneka Ingold

 

We thought we’d check in with Deng, Ross and Ingold and ask about the impact that receiving the Bennett Prize has had on their careers thus far.

Deng was announced the winner of the Bennett Prize 3.0 in May of 2023, and is already enjoying the opportunity to pursue her art full time. Educated in her native China and in New York, where she currently resides in Brooklyn, Deng has been applying the funds she has received to rent, art supplies and to travel to museums in other parts of the country. She says the most important freedom it has afforded her is to “keep expanding and exploring; and not think about the art market and if the work is easy to sell.”

Already feeling more open and confident as an artist, looking to the future, Deng says, “For me I wish to be an artist who never repeats myself, and always remains curious and sensitive to my surroundings. I was not expecting my work to be like this five years ago, so I hope in the future my work is still not predictable.”

Ayana Ross, The Pioneer Woman, oil on canvas, 40 x 30"

After being part of the finalist exhibition that toured with Ingold’s solo exhibition, Ross now has her own solo exhibition, Lessons I Leave You, that is traveling in tandem with the Rising Voices II group exhibition featuring the 2023 finalists. Touring since May 2023, both exhibitions are currently on view at Customs House: Museum & Cultural Center in Clarksville, Tennessee, through April 21.

“Being a finalist and ultimately winning the Bennett Prize has had a huge impact on the trajectory of my career,” says Ross. “It has given me the support needed to grow and expand in my work and ultimately allowed my art to be more visible on a broader scale, elevating me to a different playing field. This has been especially important for getting my work into the right spaces so that I can continue to tell the stories that need to be told.”

Ross wouldn’t say her work has changed per se, but rather has expanded. “I have taken the narratives behind my work and developed them further than I have in the past,” she says. “I have begun to find ways to layer information related in the paintings that connect the past to the present and hopefully deliver art that is not just aesthetically pleasing, but also has something important to say.”

Currently a Mellon Arts and Practitioner Fellow at the Yale Center for the Study of Race, Indigeneity and Transnational Migration (RITM), she is currently working on a few pieces for the fellowship’s April showcase.

Ayana Ross, Remember Me, oil on canvas, 40 x 30"

“The Pioneer Woman represents so many women who have paved the way into new territory,” says Ross. “In this particular instance, leaving the South and settling into a new city further north to build a life and a home for herself and those who would soon follow. The details illustrated on her housecoat give additional insight into her story and family history. While this pioneer woman can sit with satisfaction as she reflects upon her life’s journey, we are reminded of the courage it must have taken to embark upon an uncharted path into something new.

“Remember Me,” she continues, “is a reflection on those places—which for me is South Georgia—our parents and grandparents are from, the places we spent our childhood, our summers. The places we only seem to return to for funerals.”

Prior to receiving the Bennett Prize, Ross had a fairly consistent sales record and her work was beginning to have broader exposure, but she was still trying to figure out how to make that final leap into becoming a full-time painter. “Now, I am where I wanted to be, with an exhibition schedule, and just enjoying the journey,” she says. “As I look towards the future I am still looking at ways to continue to expand in my practice and working to see my work in some of my dream spaces. However, at the same time I continue to be amazed by the opportunities that come my way, so my focus is to simply do the work and let God take care of the rest. My goal is to make good and meaningful art and anything that comes after that is icing on the cake.”

Ayana Ross headshot

Ross also currently has a solo exhibition at the Reading Public Museum in Reading, Pennsylvania,  through June 2.

Having fully moved through all the phases of the Bennett Prize, Ingold has the benefit of the most hindsight and additional time for the residual effects of the award to continue to pile up.

Ingold says she’s received a lot more attention on social media and has been invited to participate in shows, be a guest lecturer at universities and art centers, be featured in numerous art publications and has gained representation by RJD Gallery in Romeo, Michigan. “It’s really exciting to be in a place where venues seek me out rather than the other way around,” she says. “It can take so much time and energy and money to do the searches and put yourself out there. It’s very satisfying to feel like some of that hard work paid off.”

Shiqing Deng, Salvator Mundi, oil on linen, 58 x 72"

The funding came in handy both in terms of realizing her solo show Transfiguration, and in getting her through a difficult divorce during Covid. “As a newly single mom with two kids I was struggling to support myself and the grant money was definitely integral in my survival,” she says. “I was able to refinance and keep the house my kids and I were living in, and additionally keep my home art studio. I’m infinitely grateful for the ability to stay close to friends and neighbors who were part of my support system and continue to make and exhibit art during such a hard time.”

Shiqing Deng, Busted, oil on linen, 54 x 70"

Ingold worked on Melancholia for much of  2023 while facing a series of challenges with her aging parents. “This self-portrait was a catharsis for me as I watched those I love suffer, and even though I suffered with them I still found a way to rely on my inner strength to surmount the internal fears I had,” she says. The piece is exclusively acrylic, a departure from her typical use of mixed-media and, at 48-by-40 inches, her largest portrait to date. On the other end of the spectrum is a recently completed foot-square piece titled Serenity, the beginning of a new series of portraits of women that could be perceived as both historical and contemporary.

Shiqing Deng headshot

“I feel increasingly validated that the work I make is relevant,” says Ingold. “That confrontational work about women’s experiences is being recognized and rewarded. I feel inspired to never stop dreaming and hoping for change in the art world for women. The Bennett Prize has so successfully supported and promoted female painters that take risks in their work and give insight into uniquely female perspectives.” —

Powered by Froala Editor