La madre, María Benítez, danzatrice e coreografa di flamenco, e il padre, Cecilio Benítez, scenografo e scultore, hanno creato un ambiente artistico in cui Benítez ha sviluppato le sue sensibilità. Successivamente, ha perseguito gli studi di Filosofia all’Università di St. John’s a Santa Fe, seguito dall’Art Student’s League a Nuova York, in cui ha cominciato a sviluppare la sua tecnica terminando, poi, i suoi studi presso l’Accademia di Belle Arti all’Università del Nuovo Messico. A completamento della scuola di Belle Arti diventa segretario ed organizzatore di mostre per l’associazione Albuquerque United Artists, un’associazione no-profit d’artisti contemporanei.
Nel 1994 si sposta in Francia partecipando e organizzando molte mostre individuali e collettive, in particolare “La Biennale Méditeranéenne de la Jeune Peinture” al Museo d’Arte Moderna e d’Arte Contemporanea a Nizza, e “Dialoghi” alla Galleria Sainte-Catherine a Rodez.
Ha collaborato con il Museo Denys-Puech a Rodez, all’organizzazione della mostra “Ida y Vuelta: Dodici Artisti da Nuovo Messico”, creando un’installazione, “Costellazione”. La mostra ha ottenuto molti consensi in ambito nazionale ed internazionale. Nel 1998, torna a Santa Fe, continuando ad esporre alla galleria Nüart ed alla Chase Gallery a Boston. Recentemente ha esposto un numero importante di opere alla Chase Gallery, ed ha partecipato ad una mostra collettiva alla galleria Nüart.
Nel Luglio del 2001 ha esposto all’Aumônerie St-Jacques a Gordes (Provenza), la mostra dal titolo “Le rouge et le noir”. Poi, nel 2002, Benítez ha avuto una mostra personale, “Mediterraneo”, presso la Galleria d’Arte Il Sagittario a Messina e in seguito, una collettiva dal titolo, “Il paradiso ritrovato”, patrocinata dal gemellaggio Santa Fe-Sorrento, nel Chiostro di San Francesco a Sorrento. Participa nel 2005 a numerose mostre in America presso Cline Fine Art e Cacciola Gallery, e realizza  personali con opere delle serie « Pompei » e « Ekfrasi » presso l’ex-Convento del Ritiro a Siracusa, e Dionysiaca e Imago Temporis a cura di Sabina Corsaro a Catania nel 2007 e 2008 rispettivamente. Benítez vive ed espone oggi tra Stati Uniti ed Europa, in particolare in Francia e in Italia. Possiede un sito personale .

English version

Francisco Benítez (born 1967) was raised in New Mexico, New York, and Spain. His mother, a flamenco dancer and choreographer, and his father, a Spanish set designer, influenced his subsequent interest in tenebrist painting and baroque art. Benítez studied Classics at St. John’s College (Santa Fe), and then academic painting techniques and anatomy/figure drawing at the Art Student’s League in New York City. Benítez subsequently obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of New Mexico, during which time he studied abroad at the Facultad de Bellas Artes in Granada, Spain, through an exchange program, and later did graduate-level independent study.
Benítez lived in Southern France for over four years, during which he participated in a number of museum shows. He exhibited at the Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain de Nice, and co-organized, curated, and participated in an exhibition featuring cutting-edge New Mexico artists at the Musée Denys-Puech in Rodez, France. Benítez also had several one-person and group shows in Southern France as well as in Paris.At present, Benítez divides his time between Europe and Santa Fe. His active exhibition schedule in the US is enhanced by projects in France and Italy. In 2002 he had a one-person exhibition in Messina, Sicily, accompanied by a catalog, as well as another exhibition in 2006 held at the Monastero del Ritiro in Syracuse, Sicily, in conjunction with the Festival of Ancient Greek Theatre.The exhibition was met with much critical attention and large numbers of visitors.
He returned to Sicily to exhibit at Galleria Quadrifoglio in Siracusa and the Capella Bonajuto in Catania in 2007, curated by Sabina Corsaro. He exhibited at Aci Castello in 2008, a new series of encaustics curated by Sabina Corsaro—Imago Temporis. Benitez’ work is included in numerous private collections, some high-profile, such as Jean-Paul Gaultier’s,  throughout the United States, as well as in France, England, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Canada, Sweden, etc. His work is on permanent display at the New Mexico State Legislature’s public art collection, as well as at the National Hispanic Culture Center and the Conseil Général de l’Aveyron in France. He has lectured on painting of the baroque period, as well as having his work featured on the covers of various books and publications.
He is currently working on a project with Edward Lucie-Smith to present a series of imagined recreations of lost Hellenistic painted masterpieces for 2011 in various European cities.