Career and projects
Bennett installed large plywood cartoon characters in 2019. [2] [3] [4] [5] In 2020, he partnered with Miller Paint to offer Earth Day kits. [6] He also hosted a collection called Crypto Zoo outside his house in 2020. [7] Bennett's A to Zoo [8] [9] and A, B, Sea projects were exhibited at Director Park. Bioluminescent Beasts was displayed at Pioneer Place in 2022 as part of the Portland Winter Light Festival. [10] Dinolandia was exhibited in downtown Portland in 2022. [11] [12] [13]
In 2023, Bennett hid fifty artworks for people to find as part of a Zelda-themed scavenger hunt. [14] He also hosted a moving sale and released Halloween-themed yard art in 2023. [15] [16] Painted Pines was exhibited at the Lloyd Center in early 2024. [17] The Cool Creature Crawl was held at the Oregon Zoo in 2024. [18] [19] Bennet also hosted the seasonal pop-up shop Snow Day Village at Director Park in 2024. The shop debuted stuffed animals based on his visual work. [20] [21]
Bennet contributed a plywood work to Robot Alley . He also designed MidCity SmashedBurger's mascot, who appears in the company's logo. He opened Wonderwood in 2022. [22] [23] [24] In 2022, Bennett was recognized as a distinguished alumni of his high school for his work in the visual arts. [25] He was a Portland TedX speaker in April 2025. [26]
In June 2025, Bennet is opening a cartoon aquarium called the Portland Aquarium, in the former Public Domain Coffee space in downtown Portland. [27] [28]
Painted Pines (2024)
The educational art installation [29] Painted Pines was an art installation on the top floor of the Lloyd Center, a shopping mall in the northeast Portland part of the Lloyd District. In September 2023, news outlets began reporting on Bennett's plans to open the exhibit in March 2024, [29] [30] with a goal of operating for two years. Bennett partnered with the advertising agency Kamp Grizzly and Lloyd Center owner Urban Renaissance Group. [31] Painted Pines was described as a "multi-land immersive art experience" and "community playground" inspired by the nation's national parks. The exhibit was installed in a 45,098-square-foot space that previously housed a movie theater and featured four themed areas—Acrylic Alps, Critter Canyon, Geyser Gulch, and Tall Tall Timbers—with approximately 1,000 cartoon animal and plant artworks. [31]
