Biography

H. Allen Benowitz, a self-taught cultural photographer, born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and a graduate from the Interboro Institute of Business in Manhattan, migrated to Miami, FL, in the 1960s, where he currently resides. He enjoys spending time in Burnsville, NC, from summer to fall.

As an evolution from the accomplishments of his professional court reporting, legal videography, and videoconferencing career, the camera became a natural segue to photography, awakening an earlier passion from childhood.

Recognition for his work includes a Judges’ Award at the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum’s Beaux Arts Festival; honorable mention in the International Kodak Contest; award winner, B/W photography, One Ear Society; winner, American Institute of Architects global competition; honorable mention, five-state juried art competition, Toe River Arts Council, Spruce Pine, NC, September 2015.

His work has also appeared at Books & Books, Coral Gables, FL, and in the Wynwood and Miami Design Districts. Among numerous publications in which he has been featured are Coastal Elegance & Wealth, The ARTnews, Laurel of Asheville, Art & Beyond, and Art Business News magazines.

Two of his visual works of art have been selected for inclusion in the 2014 International Contemporary Artists art book, Volume IX, entitled “An Exploring Journey to Art.” Mr. Benowitz has also been chosen as one of Art Business News’ Top Emerging Artists for 2014, published in its fall edition.

In July 2015, his work was on display at the Louvre in Paris.
In March 2016 and 2018, he was presented with six Winner and Nominee Medals in the 9th & 11th Annual International Color Awards Competitions.

Photo subjects include Nature, wildlife, people, architecture, and adventure travel.
In the 2017 11th Annual Black & White Spider Awards, “Fog City,” “Surf Slinky,” and “Cigar Man” received Honorable Mention, Nominee, and Nominee awards, respectively;

2019: 2nd Place “Cigar Lady II” & Nominee: “Behind the Wall”;
2020: 15th Annual B/W Spider Awards, four Nominee & Honorable Mention awards.
2020 1st Place Photography, Pinecrest Art Festival.

Published: National Geographic “Your Shot.”
Lifetime Achievement Award; Featured Artist, Marquis Who’s Who, 2018-2021;
10 winners, International Color Awards, 2024;
Published: Museum of Modern Art, MoMa issue of World of Art Magazine, 2020.

His highly acclaimed photo, “Behind the Wall,” received national recognition at Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation’s Holocaust Remembrance Project Awards Dinner in Washington, D. C.

Mr. Benowitz has been invited by His Majesty, King Mohammed VI, to photo journal his country’s Moussem de Tan-Tan, an annual festival. 20,000 tribesmen and foreign dignitaries met for a cultural and professional exchange mission 500 miles south of Casablanca in the Sahara Desert. The Moussem de Tan-Tan has been declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage for Peace and the Humanities.

Mr. Benowitz has also lectured and/or exhibited in Florida, North Carolina, Massachusetts, Georgia, New York, and Paris.
Mr. Benowitz returned from Cuba on a humanitarian mission where he photographed “Life in Cuba.”

Publications: Art & Beyond Magazine; National Geographic “Your Shot”; Art Business News; ARtnews; Laurel of Asheville; Contemporary Artists art book, Volume IX; ArtTour International Magazine; Marquis Who’s Who; SE Florida Style & Design; World of Art Contemporary Art Magazine, MoMA | Museum of Modern Art; Invited Artist, World of Art Magazine; B/W Spider Awards Video Series; Artavita; Worldwide Art Magazine.

Awards: Upon request.

His recent exhibitions: the Beaux Arts Festival, Coral Gables, FL; Naples National & Downtown Arts Festivals; Las Olas Art Festival, FL; the Toe River Arts Council, Burnsville, NC; Art & Culture Center of Hollywood; Spectrum-Miami/Art Basel; Coral Gables Museum; Amsterdam Whitney Gallery, Chelsea, New York City; Delray Beach Festival of the Arts; Florida International University; Coconut Grove Art Festival Gallery; and Under the Oaks, Vero Beach, FL.

His latest passion has been writing and publishing his memoir “Child of Silence: A Blessing in Disguise,” reviewed nationally, and which has received numerous 5-star ratings.

Artist Statement

My private passion for photography is motivated by my love of life. My purpose is to capture and share my visual adventures and travel subjects.

My initial attraction to photography started as a child. I enjoyed taking candid shots of my friends at the children’s home where I was raised. As an adult, reflecting on my childhood, I realized that I needed to capture these images as something to hold on to; these friends were my real family and the pattern has continued into adulthood.

My early passion resurfaced one morning upon seeing my six-year old son and our black and white Springer spaniel bathed in a sunbeam through an amber stained-glass window. The captured moment received honorable mention in the International Kodak Contest. That “Kodak moment” reawakened those early desires.

Urged by a local art professor to enter my work at the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum’s Beaux Arts Festival, I was flattered to win a judges’ award for a photo taken of a wood duck at the Bok Tower reflection pool in Lake Wales, FL.

I soon realized that something I loved was being appreciated by others. This then new-found credibility launched a more serious focus on an unrealized talent. The trademark of my work is depth and texture, drawing one’s eye into the picture, highlighting varying objects’ multifaceted shapes and shades of light, and bringing a still image to life. Each captured image is motivated by my passion behind the shutter.

A pioneer in my own court reporting profession, I was credited with performing the first videotape deposition, later founding the first videoconference network in the U.S. for the legal community. Having captured the spoken word and memorializing same on paper and disk, the camera became a natural segue and my eye for detail moved from the courtroom to the world.

I consider myself a life sampler, which is reflected in the variety of my work. Inspired by a trip to the Orient, in addition to color, I rediscovered the dramatic effect of black and white images.
Recently, my passion segued to writing my memoir, “Child of Silence: A Blessing in Disguise,” which has been met with 5-star and national reviews, available on Amazon and Barns & Noble.

www.H-AllenArt.com
https://facebook.com/hallenbenowitz5
Instagram: @benowitzh.allen
E-mail: H-Allen@gate.net

H. Allen Benowitz

Barbara Palka Winek

Hans Van Wingerden