Short Bio

Sarah Benson is an emerging artist based in Austin, Texas. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and received a BA in Philosophy from Connecticut College in 1993. She painted throughout the 1990s and worked in the film industry, in the art and costume departments, before deciding to pursue a Masters degree in Historic Preservation. She returned to painting and sculpture at the beginning of the pandemic. In her sculptural work, she often uses ethereal materials such as thread, mylar, and tinsel to explore ideas of volume and materiality. As a painter she works in oil, colored pencil, and ink on paper.

Resume / CV

Sarah Benson is an emerging artist based in Austin, Texas. She grew up in Berkeley, California, and received a BA in Philosophy from Connecticut College in 1993.

She painted throughout the 1990s and worked in the film industry, in the art and costume departments, before deciding to pursue a Masters degree in Historic Preservation. She returned to painting and sculpture at the beginning of the pandemic. 

In her sculptural work, she often uses ethereal materials such as thread, mylar, and tinsel to explore ideas of volume and materiality. As a painter she works in oil, colored pencil, and ink on paper.

Contact

sarahbenson1900@gmail.com / www.sarahbensonart.com / @sarahbenson1900 / 512.791.2231

Education

2004 MS Historic Preservation, The University of Texas at Austin

1993 BA Philosophy, Connecticut College

Work History

2022 - present  Cultural Resources Program Manager, Texas Military Department

2005 - 2022      Architectural Historian, Texas Military Department (based at Camp Mabry Historic District), Austin, Texas

2017 - 2021      Architectural Historian, Jacobs Engineering, Austin, Texas

2018 - 2020      Collections Volunteer, Flower Hill Urban Homestead Museum, Austin, Texas

2004 - 2005      Graduate Research Assistant, UT Austin School of Architecture

2002 - 2004      Teaching Assistant, UT Austin School of Architecture Visual Resources Collection

2000 - 2001      Development Assistant, UT Austin

1999 - 2000      Email Specialist, Garden.com, Austin, Texas

1998 - 1999      Art Department Assistant, “A Slipping-Down Life” film, Austin Texas

1997                 Costume Department Intern, "True Women” series, Austin, Texas

1996                 Production Designer, “An Evening of Christian Radio” film, Austin Texas

1996 - 1999      Assistant Manager, Toy Joy, Austin, Texas