THE FOCUS

STUDIO VISIT: BEN BUTLER

NOV. 21, 2017

My sculptures reflect the sensibility that an object stands as a momentary physical manifestation of an ongoing process. They provide evidence of unseen forces, and they point to the distinction between the human and the non-human. Throughout the natural world, unexpected complexity emerges from simple, persistent processes.

Ben Butler, Old Growth, 2017, painted steel, 24' x 22' x 4'

Ben Butler, Old Growth, 2017, painted steel, 24' x 22' x 4'

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Vertebrates, 2017, OSB board and douglas fir 2x4's, 8' x 38' x 31'

Ben Butler, Vertebrates, 2017, OSB board and douglas fir 2x4's, 8' x 38' x 31'

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

When the order of things is not readily apparent, complexity is often mistaken for chaos. In the rush to comprehend we miss the wonderful sources of things. My response is to play on the boundaries between the simple and the complex, and between the complex and the overwhelming.

- Ben Butler, 2017

Ben Butler, Invention #81, 2017, ink on paper, 20" x 16"

Ben Butler, Invention #81, 2017, ink on paper, 20" x 16"

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Old Growth, 2017, painted steel, 24' x 22' x 4'

Ben Butler, Old Growth, 2017, painted steel, 24' x 22' x 4'

Ben Butler, Vertebrates, 2017, OSB board and douglas fir 2x4's, 8' x 38' x 31'

Ben Butler, Vertebrates, 2017, OSB board and douglas fir 2x4's, 8' x 38' x 31'

Ben Butler received his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his BA from Bowdoin College. Solo exhibitions of his work have appeared in New York at Coleman Burke Gallery and Plane Space, as well as at Zg Gallery in Chicago, John Davis Gallery in Hudson, New York, Davidson Galleries in Seattle, and Rice Gallery in Houston, among others. He is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Individual Artist Grant and numerous fellowships at residency programs including the MacDowell Colony, The Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, and the Ucross Foundation.

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Vertebrates, 2017, OSB board and douglas fir 2x4's, 8' x 38' x 31'

Ben Butler, Vertebrates, 2017, OSB board and douglas fir 2x4's, 8' x 38' x 31'

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

Ben Butler, Studio Visit, October 2017

* select images courtesy of the artist

Advertisements

View all posts