Michael Benson

Goes by the artist name of MiCo (Mee-Ko), which is a combination of the first two letters of his name, and his mother’s name, Corine. Michael was born and raised on the West Side of Chicago. His parents came north in the early years of the Civil Rights era, which was during the second wave of the Great Migration. The poor neighborhoods in which he grew up did not put a damper on his artistic expression, but rather, they provided the rich background and landscape for which he uses as a source of inspiration and back-drop in many of his pieces. His artwork explores the topic of Race, Class, Gender, Sexuality, and Spirituality. He uses his artwork as a lens to creating narrative that speaks of the duality and conscience of the psycho and social divisions that exist in American society. His inspiration is mostly drawn from his Christian faith, and his upbringing. In many of his pieces he explores the topic of freedom of expression and acceptance. This is given voice in the simple yet complex, and sometimes cartoon-like depictions in his drawings. Mike works full time in the field of Health Physics.