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The New York Studio School is showing 17 works by Brenda Goodman, Steve DiBenedetto and Bendix Harms in “This Heat,” curated by Jacob Brooks. A Hyperallergic review describes the grouping as an unexpected challenge, with the artists’ varied approaches to abstraction, figuration and dark humor resisting easy comparison.
The New York Studio School is presenting “This Heat,” a 17-work exhibition bringing together painters Brenda Goodman, Steve DiBenedetto and Bendix Harms in two galleries expanded after recent renovations. Curated by Jacob Brooks, the show places two longtime New York art-world figures alongside Harms, a German artist living in northern Denmark, and invites viewers to consider how their work meets without requiring a single shared style.
The works are divided evenly between Goodman and DiBenedetto, with seven by each artist and three by Harms. In a review published September 30, 2026, Hyperallergic critic John Yau wrote that the imbalance made him shift attention among the artists and reconsider whether their works should be compared at all. He described the viewing experience as an unexpected challenge that pushed him beyond his comfort zone.
Goodman’s paintings, made from 2020 to 2026, move between abstraction and figuration and draw on personal experience, Yau wrote. Her “Mounting Thoughts” (2024) presents a dim, ambiguous scene with cone-like forms piled on a table. Yau said the image resisted a single reading. DiBenedetto’s seven works include “Isotope Plus” (2026), a large painting with a flattened, many-limbed form against a blue ground. Yau connected the image to the artist’s longstanding interest in octopuses.
Harms contributes three paintings, including “Tears of No Return” (2020), which Yau described as a flattened scene with two birds, a blood-mouthed cat and a large tearful face. The review says Harms paints directly on canvas with a palette knife and takes inspiration from his immediate surroundings; that information came from the exhibition brochure written by Brooks. The source lists “My Sun” (2018) among the works, while the review does not provide a full checklist.
Three Painters, Uneasy Company
The exhibition’s news value lies in its cross-generational and cross-geographic pairing, not in a claim that the artists share a settled movement or method. Yau writes that placing Harms, unfamiliar to him, alongside Goodman and DiBenedetto disrupted his expectations of the New York Studio School’s presentation of art. He also saw the grouping as an opportunity to look at the artists individually rather than force their work into a direct comparison.
For viewers, that distinction matters: the show offers a way to encounter very different kinds of painting in one visit. Yau identifies abstraction and figuration, opacity and transparency as tensions visible in Goodman’s and DiBenedetto’s work, while Harms’s bright, grotesque imagery changes how the other paintings read in the galleries. That is the critic’s interpretation of the exhibition, rather than a stated curatorial thesis confirmed by the school.
A Pairing Across Artistic Circles
Yau went to the exhibition already familiar with Goodman’s and DiBenedetto’s work, which he had followed and written about over many years. He said he knew little about Harms before seeing the show and was curious about the reason for pairing him with the two New York artists. After viewing the paintings, he consulted Brooks’s brochure and learned more about Harms’s practice and life on a remote farm in northern Denmark.
The review places Goodman’s career at seven decades and describes both her and DiBenedetto as artists who continue to move between recognizable forms and ambiguity. Yau regarded the addition of an artist from outside New York as a departure from what he characterized as an insular atmosphere at the school. These are the critic’s judgments; the supplied material does not give the school’s account of its curatorial aims or the renovation timeline.
“This presented an unexpected but not unwelcome challenge, pushing me out of my comfort zone.”
— John Yau, Hyperallergic review
The Show’s Dates and Aims
The supplied source material does not state when the exhibition opened or closes, whether it includes public programs, or how the school and curator define the relationship among the artists. It also does not provide a complete checklist or visitor information. The idea that the works resist direct comparison is Yau’s critical reading, not a confirmed statement of the curator’s intent.
Visit Details Still Needed
The exhibition is on view at the New York Studio School, but readers will need to consult the school’s current listings for dates, hours and admission details, which are not included in the source material. No next event or closing date is identified in the report. The development covered here is the current presentation and Yau’s review of how its three painters’ works interact.
Key Questions
What is “This Heat”?
“This Heat” is an exhibition at the New York Studio School featuring paintings by Brenda Goodman, Steve DiBenedetto and Bendix Harms.
Who curated the exhibition?
The exhibition was curated by Jacob Brooks, who also wrote its brochure, according to the Hyperallergic review.
How many works by each artist are included?
The show has 17 works: seven by Goodman, seven by DiBenedetto and three by Harms.
Where does Bendix Harms live?
Yau’s review says Harms is a German artist living on a remote farm in northern Denmark.
When does the exhibition close?
The source material does not provide an opening or closing date. Check the New York Studio School’s current exhibition information for visitor details.
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