Pieces of a Man

KEAN UNIVERSITY is pleased to present “PIECES OF A MAN", a survey of new works by Los Angeles based, contemporary artist, Knowledge Bennett. Bennett returns to his home state of New Jersey to put together his largest exhibition to date, waging a complete takeover of KEAN University’s campus galleries. The exhibition will span across 5 galleries, each with its own new body of work.

While the world was experiencing a global lockdown, Bennett was reminded of what it meant to be “still” yet not necessarily sit still. Continuing right through the pandemic, studying, designing, photographing, and painting, he’s amassed a collection of new works ready to be unveiled to the public this fall. The exhibition borrows its title from the late great Gil Scott-Heron’s 1971 debut studio album. The album which Scott-Heron emphatically states, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.

PIECES OF A MAN shall commence September 1 and run thru December 17, 2021. Kean University is located at 1000 Morris Ave, Union NJ 07083.

Knowledge Bennett (born 1976, Asbury Park, New Jersey) is a Los Angeles-based American contemporary artist. He is self-taught in the traditions of serigraphy as well as photography and is widely known for large-scale silkscreen paintings that employ pop culture iconography to re-contextualize historical narratives. His subject matter often spans cultural icons, historical occurrences, and political figures. Bennett's visual narratives are tangential critiques of American idealism, political corruption, and systemic racial stratification. Bennett’s artistic voice fluctuates between vehement protest and deep personal introspection. Bennett’s aesthetic choices evolved in tandem with his personal growth. One of Bennett's paintings titled "Black Excellence," from his "Black Paintings" series, is included in the nationally touring Smithsonian exhibition Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., which is scheduled to travel to 10 cities from 2019 - 2022. Several more of Bennett’s works can be seen featured in the wildly popular Netflix series #BLACKAF created by Kenya Barris.