Vittoria Benzine

Maybe Vittoria Benzine was born when I was nine
years old, writing a report for my elementary school English class about
the black-footed ferret. Maybe Vittoria Benzine was born when I turned
fifteen and fell in love with fashion as a means of escape from our
small town in rural Pennsylvania. Maybe Vittoria Benzine was born when I
turned sixteen and began to actively consider writing a career path.


By all factual measures, though, Vittoria Benzine was born when I was
22, on June 7th, 2018. I know the precise date because it’s recorded in
my phone’s notes - this is the moment my name came to me, one week
before I achieved my first six months sober.


Vittoria Benzine, her name laden with sexually-charged consonants
evocative of flammable chemicals and Le Tigre lyrics, didn’t see this
past as pain. She saw it as strength. Through Vittoria’s eyes, my wounds
turned to wisdom, and my struggles to stories. Vittoria is my
regard for writing personified. She is an embodiment of the American
conflation between profession and identity gone awry, a system turning
back on itself.

Vittoria Benzine is a witch an art journalist, essayist, and self-employed PR professional based in Brooklyn, New York. Since leaving her rural Pennsylvanian town, she has lived in disparate nooks of the city’s architecture, ranging from the Bronx to Bensonhurst. Her myriad career paths mirror this same pattern, and she has worked in entertainment, food service, fashion, and corporate consultancy. Through it all, Vittoria returns to writing with the intention to not only sort through her own experiences, but to share herself with the greater consciousness she feels so connected to.

My Favorite Pieces

The Smart Set •

Songs and Struggles

Lilly Hiatt’s music first found me by way of WXPN’s airwaves. In August 2017, I fled NYC for my hometown in Central PA, nursing spiritual and physical wounds from my latest emotional monsoon. A recent week-long bender had concluded with me quitting therapy and taking up self-harm instead. Scabbed remnants of the injuries on my arms and legs turned to scar tissue while my 2001 Saturn with manual locks and windows crawled towards the end of Cameron Street. There, an ad for Hiatt’s Trinity Lane pro
Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art •

The ‘Art World’ is Made Up of Individuals--‘Love Letters to Harlem’ at Claire Oliver Gallery.

By VITTORIA BENZINE March, 2021 February 22nd opened ‘Love Letters to Harlem,’ the latest exhibition on view at Harlem-based Claire Oliver Gallery. This group show compiles four established photographers from the local neighborhood, including John Pinderhughes, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, Jeffrey Henson Scales, and Shawn Walker. A press release also notes that a portion of the show’s proceeds will benefit Harlem Community Relief Fund, a joint endeavor to combat food insecurity in Harlem. “In t
Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art •

A Portrait of Ben Reeves

Vancouver-based painter Ben Reeves contorts his medium, experimenting with perception while nature takes center stage. His biography with Equinox Gallery explains that “Reeves is known for his sumptuous use of paint in compositions that deftly explore the relationship between abstraction and depiction.” No two moments look alike across the artist’s body of work—together, they form cycling permutations that disorient the eye before it surrenders to the hues ahead. “At first glance, many of his w
LUMINA •

By Any Means —

Three drags from an Uber driver’s cigarette bolstered my facade of calm. I swallowed the acidic taste in the back of my throat and stepped through the entrance for my first glimpse into Richard’s apartment. It was bigger than anything I’d ever seen in New York, with a spacious terrace featuring panoramic views of Central Park and the frosty Upper East Side. Black and white tiles gave the floor a sense of antiquity. I noticed a thin layer of dust covering everything and thought, Couldn’t he affor
Close ✕