Artist Statement:

My favorite aspect of Painting is how the medium can challenge our assumptions of what is material and what is illusion, pointing out the subjectivity of our senses. In these new paintings I am using a sculptural approach to meet the viewer in their own space. The way these wall constructions tilt off the wall, it disjoints our relationship to the floor and the stability of our viewership. The irregular shape keeps it from being a 2D rectilinear window to be looked through. It is clearly an object existing in our three dimensional space, one that we have to make sense of through curiosity. Thin layers of oil paint create shimmering depths within the fabric of woven wood-grains, the conflicting spatial relationships challenge us like a visual puzzle. Color conveys emotional associations and provides a way to exaggerate illusion and play with our perceptions of order. This is still clearly a painting, but there is woodworking in the sculptural support, and in the structure of
veneer marquetry.

Ben Boothby is a native Mainer, but lived out of state for way too long, and is happy to call Portland home now. His paintings have been exhibited in NYC, nationally, and in Europe. Ben has been painting for 30 years, he received his BA in Studio Art from Wesleyan University in 1997. He earned his MFA from The Academy of Art University, San Francisco, in 2011. After graduating he taught abstract painting for 7 years at AAU. In the gap between degree programs he lived in DC, Iceland, and Oakland. The phase of living away from Maine concluded with 9 years in Bushwick, Brooklyn NY, and then the pandemic’s silver-lining was a move home. His studio is at Running With Scissors, in East Bayside.

Available Work

Ben Boothby ‘Seafoam & Honeysuckle’ Oil and Acrylic on Panel 48”x38” $8300

Ben Boothby ‘Duality Sequence’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 16” x 15” x 4” $4945

Ben Boothby ‘Duality Sequence’ (Side View) Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 16” x 15” x 4” $4945

Ben Boothby ‘Cantilever Iteration’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 12” x 16” x 4” $4140

Ben Boothby ‘Cantilever Iteration’ (Detail) Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 12” x 16” x 4” $4140

Ben Boothby ‘Parallax Motif II’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 27” x 12” x 4” $5980

Ben Boothby ‘Parallax Motif II’ (Side View) Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 27” x 12” x 4” $5980

Ben Boothby ‘Adaptive Simultaneity’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 12” x 15” x 4” $3795

Ben Boothby ‘Adaptive Simultaneity’ (Detail) Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 12” x 15” x 4” $3795

Ben Boothby ‘Fascia Catalyst’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 14″x26″x3″ $6,900

Ben Boothby ‘Fascia Catalyst (Detail)’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 14″x26″x3″ $6,900

Ben Boothby ‘Inlaid Cantilever #2’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 8″x11″x3″ $2,200

Ben Boothby ‘Inlaid Cantilever #2 (Detail)’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 8″x11″x3″ $2,200

Ben Boothby ‘Rotary Dial & French Toast’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 28″x44″x6” $15,500

Ben Boothby ‘Rotary Dial & French Toast (Detail)’ Oil on Inlaid Veneer Panel 28″x44″x6” $15,500