Artist Biography
Benjamin Turley is an interdisciplinary artist whose works draw on the subtle patterns found in nature. Benjamin was born in 1978 in the shadow of the Bighorn mountains of Wyoming and in 1997 moved to Brooklyn, NY. In this contrasting environment he found an abundance of inspiration in the rich cultural atmosphere of NYC and discovered his love for travel, both of which fueled his passion for visual expression.
In 2009 Benjamin married and moved to Long Island where furniture design became the outlet for creative energy. Inspired by the simplicity and freedom of mid-century composition as well as the dynamic and stimulating design found locally in nature, his furniture has excited collectors throughout the NYC area.
In 2022 Benjamin began a series of artworks employing the neo-impressionist technique of applying opposing colors together side-by-side, leaving them to blend in the eye. The application of acrylic paint in strictly horizontal lines results in abstract landscapes where the subject is color. Benjamin continues his work alongside his wife, Gia, in the quaint harbor town of Northport, NY.
My work is grounded in a sustained attention to the natural world. Whether I am making furniture, sculpture, or paintings, each piece begins with the same impulse: to distill form to its essentials and allow simplicity to do the work.
Across these mediums, I focus on naturally occurring elements, shapes, patterns, and restrained color relationships. Rather than directing the viewer toward a fixed meaning, the work creates space for quiet observation. In that slowed, attentive state, a sense of calm emerges, and with it an awareness of the generosity and fragility of life itself.
My furniture often brings together warm and cool materials, most frequently wood and cast cement. These pieces are built around organic forms like tree branches, stacked or interlocking columns, where the natural shape dictates the engineering rather than the reverse. Structure follows form. The result is functional sculpture that reflects my respect for natural systems and the intelligence embedded within them.
My paintings follow a similarly disciplined approach. Each composition is constructed exclusively from horizontal lines of alternating color. By imposing this limitation, I relinquish a degree of control and shift into the role of observer. The final image often feels less authored than revealed, as though it is not a projection of my will, but a quiet translation of nature passing through me.