Born in Turin, Maria Rosa Benso starts painting under Margherita Carena, from the school of the Italian painter Felice Casorati.
In the 1970s, she starts showing her work in group exhibitions.
Meanwhile, she graduates in English language and literature, to subsequently specialize in American literature. After which, she takes linguistics and semiotics courses then tackles Chinese, Arabic and Kiswahili.
This leads her to operate as project manager of on-site advanced professional language training systems and centres within multinational organizations in Italy and abroad and to establish contacts with prestigious universities such as MIT, Stanford and Harvard Universities, the Manchester Business School, the Beijing University.
Hence, for two decades she travels regularly to many European countries as well as to North and South America and China. Yet she never leaves painting: in reverse, professional travels and contacts allow her to widen her knowledge of other cultures and of new artistic languages, ranging from the Arabic and Chinese arts of calligraphy to the American Action Painting.
In the late nineties, she goes back definitely to painting as her main activity and starts exhibiting her work.
In 2011 she joins the Post Millennium New York School (PMNYS), a group of independent artists connected with MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, therefore developing contacts with artists and curators from MoMA, NYC.
In January 2018, MoMA, at their New York venue, inaugurates a four-week slideshow of works by students from their courses. On that occasion, of her studies on Robert Ryman is exhibited.
Maria Rosa Benso lives and works in Turin, Italy.
Maria Rosa Benso is a member, among others, of:
Ponte per l’Arte, Turin.
APA, Associazione Piemonte Arte, Turin.
PMNYS, Post Millennium New York School, an international group of independent artists connected to MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.
Maria Rosa Benso’s works are in private and public collections in Italy, France, Great Britain and the USA.
