Abstract Piñata No. 10

13" x 11" x 5"
Paper, paperboard, glue, crepe paper, wire
2024

Piñata-based sculptor, Roberto Benavidez (b.1973 Beeville, TX)  is a self described “Half-breed, South Texan, queer, figurative sculptor” specializing in the piñata form; playing on themes of race, sexuality, art, sin, humor, ephemerality and beauty.

“I was drawn to ancient imagery of mythological hybrid creatures, which parallel the mixed race part of myself. When I was growing up in south Texas in the 70s and 80s, it was a very racist time and place, and it felt like Mexicans were second-tier citizens. I want to push the piñata into a realm where you’re forced to see it as valuable, moving it into new spaces to show that we belong everywhere.” For Benavidez, Mexican craft—in all its celebratory, brightly-colored, and hand-worked glory—acts as a stage to explore sexuality and intersectional identities with a wink of whimsy and absurdism.

His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Museum of International Folk Art, LA Metro, and the Detroit Institute of Arts, among others. His sculptures have been featured in publications including American Craft Magazine, ARTnews, Artsy, Atlas Obscura, Audubon Magazine, The Guardian, hifructose.com, Hyperallergic, LUXE Interiors + Design, Politiken, The New York Times and This Is Colossal. Most recently he was featured in the New York Times Series “The Art of Craft.” Benavidez has shown in group and solo exhibitions, including at the AD&A Museum at UCSB, Craft In America, Mingei International Museum, Palo Alto Art Center, Self Help Graphics, Mesa Contemporary Art Museum and Riverside Art Museum; his work was included in the 2024 Homo Faber Biennial in Venice, Italy, and the 2025 Cheongju Craft Biennale in Cheongju, South Korea. Metro commissioned him to contribute to the “Through the Eyes of Artists” poster series (2019); his Bosch fruit fascinators are featured in the finale of The Interview with the Vampire series on AMC+. He is also featured in the “Play” episode of the Craft In America PBS series, and is the subject of the 2024 documentary short “Piñatas of Earthly Delights” directed by Tom Maroney.