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Beninati will work his magic at SportsFest Joe Montana will pose this year in Chicago |
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By T. S. O'Connell Carlo Beninati has painted some of the biggest names in sports over the past three decades, a roster that includes perhaps his highest-profile projects with Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan, all part of his self-avowed plan “to document the history of human accomplishment.” That sounds fairly grandiose, but when you consider his current Woods and Jordan serigraphs and previous creations involving Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Dan Marino and even Dennis Rodman, it’s seems pointless to quibble with his mission statement. Few artists can boast a client list equal to Beninati’s, a roster that includes Fortune 500 companies, politicians, entertainment figures and sports personalities. His work has also been included in prestigious public and private collections and is prominently displayed by collectors, galleries and museums worldwide. The Woods and Jordan prints, each authenticated by UDA, are expected now available to the public. Indeed, the interest in the Jordan serigraphs has already been so strong that the prices have already been bumped up to reflect the increased demand. Beninati is justifiably proud of being the first artist to acquire a project for autographed fine art featuring Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio and also Ted Williams, but his beginning came more than 30 years ago with a ballplayer who almost certainly belongs in Cooperstown but has been snubbed by the voters over the years. “Ron Santo brought me to Wrigley Field in the mid1960s when I was helping him set up a pizza franchise,” said Beninati. The artist, in his early 20s, got to go into the locker room and on the field to take photos of Santo for a planned portrait. “I was a really good athlete, and I looked around at the vines and I wanted to say, ‘Hey, can I play?’” Taking the photos at Wrigley might have been the first experience working with a crowd, but more recently the talented Beninati has taken it full circle, doing the actual painting, or at least a good deal of it, in various public settings. A couple of years ago that meant creating an original painting of Dan Marino at SportsFest, a routine that will be repeated this year as the artist tries his hand at working with another Hall of Fame QB, Joe Montana. At that earlier SportsFest Marino chipped in with the undertaking by signing the original artwork in paint, and Beninati figures to use a similar game plan with Montana. At the 1996 National in Anaheim, none other than Dennis Rodman was in the chair, sort of. “I can’t tell you what a happening that was, Beninati said of his encounter with the comically and cosmically adorned Rodman. “He walks up to my booth with his security and his entourage, and we were both very uncomfortable at first with everybody screaming.” The kibitzing from the fans centered around trying to figure out what color to make Rodman’s infamous locks, a nuance that shouldn’t be quite as problematic for Montana. “It’s exciting to get the celebrity to participate in the piece,” said Beninati. And while the setting may be a bit unusual, he’s adapted well to the process. “Once I start, it’s OK. I concentrate so much that all the distractions don’t bother me.” |
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Copyright © 1997-2003 Beninati Incorporated. Phone: 1-888-ARTGLOW
(1-888-278-4569) |
