Biography
Derek is a self-taught artist, developing his skills with using different tools and woods creating a style that is original and unique to the artist and the collecting world.
Artists Bio: Derek Bencomo, Maui Hawaii
Derek Bencomo’s artwork has been exhibited in numerous solo and group juried exhibitions in galleries and museums. The most notable include.
Hawaii State Art Museum(4x), Peabody Essex Museum, (2x), Cincinnati Art Museum, Honolulu Art Museum ,The Center for Art in Wood, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Fuller Craft Museum,
The Wood Turning Center, Minneapolis Museum of Art, (2x)Fine Arts Museum, Houston, Museum of Arts & Design, (2x)Renwick Gallery, National Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, (2x)
Honolulu Contemporary Museum, (3x)Mobile Museum of Art, (3x)University of Michigan Art Museum,
Long Beach Art Museum, California, (2x )First Hawaiian Bank Corporate Collection,
State of Hawaii, The Foundation and the Culture and the Arts, (6x) Detroit Institution of Arts, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Museum, (2x) Texas State Bank Corporate Collection, Yale University Art Museum, The Mable Brady Garvin Collection, (2x)
Bishop Museum, The Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts,
Notable Exhibitions:
The Mint Museum of Art and Design, 2012,201, 3Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center, Maui HI,1992, 1993,1994, 1995,1996,1997,1999, 2010, 2011,2012,2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI,2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, The Luce Foundation Center, Smithsonian American Art, 2006, 2009, Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA, 2010, 2011 2012,2013, Academy Art Center, Honolulu, HI,1993, 1994, 1995,1997,1998, 1999, 2004, 2009, 2011,2012, 2013, 2014,2016, 2018, 2019, Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2016, State of Hawaii Art Museum, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, Ohio Crafts Museum, Columbus OH, 2000, 2006, Prichard Art Gallery, University of Idaho, 2005, Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Maui HI,1994, 1995,1996,1997,1999, 2005, 2011,2012, 2013, 2014,2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, 2005, Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, Rockport, MN, 2005, Lahaina Arts Society, 1992,1993,1994, 200, 5Craft and Folk-Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA, 2004, Janice Charach Epstein Gallery, Bloomfield, MI, 2003, Creative Arts Workshop, New Haven CT, 2002, Ellipse Arts Center, Arlington, VA, 2002, Minneapolis Institution of Art,2001, 2011, Frog Hollow, Burlington, VT, 2001, Saskatchewan Craft Council Gallery, Canada, 2000, The Society for Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA, 1999, American Crafts Museum, NY, 1998, Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, IA, 1998, Mc Allen International Museum, Mc Allen, Texas,1997, Oakland Museum of Art, Oakland, CA,1997, Carleton Art Museum, MN, 1995,
Derek has been awarded numerous Best In Show and honorable mentions as well as purchase awards.
Honorable Mention, Hui No’eau Juried Exhibition, 2020, First Place Sculpture, Hawaii Wood show, 2017Honorable Mention, Hawaii Wood show, 2016, Honorable Mention, Hawaii Wood show, 2015“Best of Show”, Hui No’eau Juried Exhibition, 2012, Hawaiian Craftsmen Annual State Exhibit, Award of Excellence, 2004, State of Hawaii, The Foundation of the Arts, Purchase Award, 2002
Hawaiian Craftsmen Annual State Exhibit, Second Place Award, 1998
Hawaiian Craftsmen Annual State Exhibit, Three First Place Awards, 1997
State of Hawaii, The Foundation of the Arts Purchase Award, 1996The State of Hawaii, The Foundation of the Arts Purchase Award, 1995
Hawaii Craftsmen Annual State Exhibit, “The Following the Sea” Award, 1993
Derek’s artwork has been published in numerous catalogs, books as well as international and reginal publications and magazines.
Traces-AAW, 2019, Intersection-Art & Life: 2018, Dia.Log: 2018, Audacious: The Fine Art of Wood, 2015, Masters of Contemporary Wood Art: 2018, 2019, 2020, Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin, 2008 CORES, Recycled, The Center for Art in Wood, 2015, Turning to Art in Wood, A Creative Journey, 2012Beyond Boundaries, Wood for the 21st Century, CWA, 2015 Conversations with Wood: The Collection of Ruth and David Waterbury, 2011 A Revolution in Wood: The Bresler Collection Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, 2010, “20 Going on 21,” The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI, 2009 “10 Years,” The Contemporary Museum at First Hawaiian Center, 2006
“500 Wood Bowls”, Bold & Original Designs Blending Tradition & Innovation, 2004
“Celebration Nature: Craft Traditions/ Contemporary Expressions,” Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA, 2004
“Nature Transformed,” Wood Art form the Bohlen Collection, University of Michigan Museum of Art
“Wood Art Today” : Furniture, Vessels, Sculpture, 2003
Collectors Choice: SOFA Chicago, 2002
“Wood Turning in North America: Since 1930,” Wood Turning Center, Yale University Art Museum
“The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohlen Collection,” The Detroit Institution of Arts, 2000
“Contemporary Turned Wood; New Perspectives in a Rich Tradition,” 1999
“Transformation 2: Contemporary Works in Wood,” The Elizabeth R. Raphael Founders Prize Exhibition, The Society of Contemporary Crafts, Pittsburgh, PA, 1999
“Expressions in Wood; Master Works from the Wornick Collection,” Oakland Museum of Art, 1996
“The Art of Craft; Contemporary Works from the Saxe Collection,” Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, 1996 ,“Nature Turning into Art; The Ruth & David Waterbury Collection”, Carleton College, 1995 American Art Collector, Woodwork, United States, Woodworker West, United States American Woodworker, United States, Craft Arts International, Australia Turning Points, United States American Craft, United States, Woodturning, United Kingdom, Departures, International Art and Antiques, United States, American Style, Untied States, Woodworkers Journal, United States, Carving (wood), United Kingdom