New Ceramics from Teddy Benfield

Teddy Benfield in his studio (Image curtesy of the artist)

Teddy Benfield is a Boston based artist working primarily as a painter, screen printer, photographer, and most recently, a ceramicist. We first began working with Benfield in 2019 when his work was featured in our first annual Fresh Faces exhibition. Most recently, Benfield was a part of our group exhibition titled Begin from Observation along with artists Richard Keen and Samuel Stabler. It has been a pleasure watching Benfield’s work evolve over time, and we are so excited by his latest venture into the new medium of ceramics.

Benfield was also recently chosen as an “Artist to Watch 2022” by ArtConnect magazine, where curator Vanessa Souli wrote:

“I can't help but think of Van Gogh's interior depictions when I look at Benfield's art. His pictures have an illustrative beauty but the way he plays with the colour and scenes gives the works an uncanny sense of absence or of being watched. I like the ambivalence of the visual output as well as the themes and symbols he is using.”

Teddy Benfield, Fish Plate, 2022. House paint, acrylic paint, oil pastel, china marker on ceramic plate, 11.75 x 14.75 in.

In the interview with ArtConnect, Benfield also expresses his excitement over ceramics as a new medium to add to his artistic oeuvre. We asked him to expand on this bold choice to branch out to across mediums, to which he responded:

'“This body of ceramic work is a direct expansion of my painting practice. Borrowed motifs and mark making comment on the development of underwater subject matter and introduce a three dimensional aspect of texture and form. Using both clay and mixed mediums as texture building materials, this series of plates and bowls allows the viewer to question the traditional utilitarian aspects of these objects and insert a more sculptural mindset into the human made elements that echo the things naturally found underwater. Comments on coral formations, rocks, seaweed and fish scales are a few examples of how texture is manipulated three dimensionally to create a push and pull dynamic between what is human made and what is natural. A similar color palette is used in my paintings but the introduction of different glazes combines more marbled effects that viewers are accustomed to seeing in nature, often times the products of hundreds of thousands of years of weathering. I am excited to show this body of work, as it is a step beyond paint on canvas and relays the message of indoor vs. outdoor space; human made vs. what is found around us.”

We are so thrilled to see Benfield’s expansion of his artistic practice and look forward to all of our future collaborations.

To view Benfield’s available ceramic works, you can follow this link: Teddy Benfield - Ceramics Price List

Press Release: Begin from Observation

Teddy Benfield, Untitled (Indoor Open 2), 2020. House paint, acrylic paint, oil paint, ink, krink ink, oil pastel, china marker, spray paint on canvas.
48 x 48 in

April 20 - May 29, 2022

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery proudly presents Begin From Observation, a three-person exhibition featuring Teddy Benfield (Boston, MA), Richard Keen (Brunswick, ME), and Samuel Stabler (Athens, GA). The exhibition title is derived from the techniques taught in an artist’s first courses: when learning how to draw you must begin from observation. It is one of the most basic but true rules of learning composition, proportions, rendering, and everything else important that must be built upon before an artist can let themselves branch out or break these rules. The premier step any artist must take is learning how to draw directly from learning how to see. In this exhibition, each artist explores truth through abstraction as a method of viewing the world in its most authentic form. The artists render still life, landscapes, and portraiture, referencing art history’s past combined with the materials of the present.

In his still life paintings, Teddy Benfield mixes a multitude of media to generate a dialogue between traditional still life genre painting and the relationships we have with marketplace consumerism through contemporary internet culture. Benfield’s compositions are packed with the representational imagery we see every day from brands, logos, motifs and even patterns claimed by specific subcultures, like the black and white checkerboard pattern often associated with skaters. In doing so, Benfield opens up a conversation around the ever-changing definition of culture, and how it is so often dictated by class differences. 

Richard Keen, Blue Trees No. 10 (Dresden), 2021. Acrylic and oil on canvas. 36 x 30 in.

Conversely, Richard Keen aims to remove the representational details in his work, obscuring lush landscapes by paring them down to color and form. Keen’s saturated, geometric compositions explore the relationship between nature, the man-made, and the space that exists between. In breaking down his subjects to the most basic elements, he finds truth in their simplicity, allowing both himself and his audience to see these subjects through their own unique lens. His motifs are inspired by his time spent in the woods of Maine.

In his debut presentation at Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, artist Samuel Stabler guides his viewers through familiar imagery with a modern eye. Stabler, as many great artists before him, revisits the work of old masters, playing off of the subject matter to create a picture that is wholly his own. Using highlighter neon colors and gold gouache, Stabler chooses parts of the original compositions that he has felt need more attention than they have previously been granted. In a recent interview with Gallery 151, Stabler states: “I like the idea of taking something that was maybe forgotten and bringing it back out.” In doing so, he alters our perception of the Western canon and celebrates the cycle of reinvention in art history. 

All together the three artists’ work combines meticulously rendered details that inspire deep examination. A reminder of the importance of the past in order to present subject matter in a way that both remains dynamic and speaks to the way they see the world in this moment.

________

Teddy Benfield is a Boston based artist from Connecticut (b. 1992). He received his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (2018) and his BFA in Visual arts from Union College (2015) as well as a certificate in Sneaker Design from Fashion Institute of Technology (2019). 

Samuel Stabler, Untitled Combine (Stallone, McQueen), 2021. Pen, acrylic paint, hand cut paper. 50 x 38 in. (framed)

Richard Keen (b. 1971, Pennsylvania) is a contemporary abstract artist who works in a variety of media, including painting, murals, and sculpture. He has shown in numerous New England solo and group exhibitions at the University of Maine Museum of Art, Elizabeth Moss Gallery, The Painting Center, New York, Gallery 49, Simon Gallery, and Barrett Art Center, among others. Keen has been featured in Art New England, Boston Voyager Magazine, Portland Herald Press, and Maine Home and Design. 

Georgia-born and based artist Samuel Stabler is known for his contemporary take on Old Master paintings. The artist recreates these masterworks in highly detailed pen-and-ink drawings, which he then obscures with streaks of neon yellow, adding a contemporary update to centuries-old masterpieces. Sourcing images from the internet, he also creates meticulous cut-outs, transforming once familiar subjects into abstract webs of line and contour. “Old Masters used to paint the masters before them,” he has said. “The internet age has allowed me to have this huge access to information, so I’m appropriating it in the way that makes sense to me now.”

Press Inquiries: kaylee@abigailogilvy.com

Press Release: Back Together

BACK TOGETHER

June 10 – July 18, 2021

Installation photo, Back Together

Featuring: Clint Baclawski, Teddy Benfield, Mishael Coggeshall-Burr, Austin Eddy, Marlon Forrester, Holly Harrison, Lavaughan Jenkins, Katelyn Ledford, Kristina McComb, Susan Murie, Wilhelm Neusser, Haley Wood, Natalia Wróbel

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery is proud to present Back Together, a group exhibition curated to showcase strong, new pieces by our represented artists, as well as introduce high quality works by emerging artists. Featuring primarily local artists, Back Together seeks to open dialogue with the Boston arts community, focusing on work that presents an interesting process or concept. It also serves as a celebration of reconnection after the pandemic. The artists featured represent many different mediums, disciplines, and ideas, and come together to form a full picture of the rich variety in contemporary art today.

Clint Baclawski (b. 1981, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania) is a contemporary artist working with photography, technology, light, and space.
His solo exhibition locations include San Luis Obispo, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Boston, Massachusetts; Edinburgh, Scotland; and group shows at the Chelsea Art Museum, Danforth Museum, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, San Diego Art Institute, The Jen Bekman Gallery, and the University College Falmouth in England. His work is included in private and institutional collections. Baclawski has been featured in FRAME magazine, The Boston Globe, The Creator’s Project, Boston Home magazine, Designboom, and The Collector’s Guide to New Art Photography Volume II. Clint’s studio is located in Boston’s South End.

Teddy Benfield works primarily as a painter, screen printer and photographer. His works consist of a mixture of the three mediums to create a dialogue between traditional still life genre painting and the relationships individuals have with marketplace and consumerism through the internet culture of today. 

Signage combines the modern product with interior space yet has the ability to transform the modern pedestrian back in time. Representational imagery introduces the past to the present and pays homage to hand painted signs as well as the comments of class and value in traditional still life painting while room for abstraction is absorbed within traditional advertisement qualities.

Teddy Benfield is a Boston based artist from Connecticut (b. 1992). He received his MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University (2018) and his BFA in Visual arts from Union College (2015) as well as a certificate in Sneaker Design from Fashion Institute of Technology (2019).

Mishael Coggeshall-Burr, High Line IV.

Mishael Coggeshall-Burr integrates the art of photography and oil painting to create novel and compelling images on canvas.  Taking blurred shots with a 35mm camera, the artist searches for peripheral scenes with cinematic color and tone.  He translates selected images into abstract-realist paintings with convincing color, formal structure, and subtle references to art history.  Through his actions Mishael questions both the truth of photography and the fiction of painting: we enter a liquid, cinematic space, capturing the magic moment when Alice seems to step through the looking glass.  The photorealistic image melts away, the prosaic merges with poetry.

“We live in a mostly blurry world. Our eyes only actually focus on a tenth of our field of vision at any one time. Our viewpoint, emotions, and context blur our memories. The landscapes I paint are in some way our genuine environment: the backgrounds to our lives, always present and often out of focus.”

Mishael studied painting at Middlebury College, The Glasgow School of Art, and the Art Student's League in New York.  His artistic adventures have led him to many countries and continents, with many images from his travels featured in his art exhibitions. He lives, works and paints in Montague, MA with his wife and four children.

Austin Eddy, Every Duck In Its Place While Moving From Here To There Forgetting Nothing

Austin Eddy was born in Boston, MA (USA) in 1986 and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He received a BFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Select recent exhibitions include: Fresh Windows Gallery in Brooklyn, NY (2018), SetUp 2018 Art Fair, Cellar Contemporary (Italy), Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA (2018), Ampersand Gallery in Portland, OR (2018), David Shelton Gallery, Houston, TX (2017), Dallas Art Fair (2017), Code Art Fair, Bendixen Contemporary Art. Copenhagen, DK. (2016), Agnes B. Gallerie, Paris, FR (2016), and Left Field Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2015). He recently completed the Liquitex International Residency in London, England (2018). Austin Eddy is the founder and curator of EDDYSROOM, a nomadic curatorial project launched in 2015. 

Marlon Forrester, born in Guyana, South America, is an artist and educator raised in Boston, MA. Forrester is a graduate of School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, B.A 2008 and Yale School of Art, M.F.A. 2010. He is a resident artist at African-American Masters Artist Residency Program (AAMARP) adjunct to the Department of African-American Studies in association with Northeastern University. He has shown both internationally and nationally, concerned with the corporate use of the black body, or the body as logo, Forrester’s paintings, drawings, sculptures, and multimedia works reflect meditations on the exploitation implicit in the simultaneous apotheosis and fear of the muscular black figure in America.

Holly Harrison lives and works in Concord, MA. She received an MA in creative writing from The City College of New York and a BA from Wesleyan University. Her artwork has been featured at galleries and museums throughout the country and is held in private and corporate collections nationally and internationally. Additionally, she has curated two well-received shows at the Concord Center for the Visual Arts, where she was subsequently invited to join the Board of Trustees.   

Lavaughan Jenkins, Skin I’m In

Lavaughan Jenkins is a painter, printmaker, and sculptor. He was raised in Pensacola, Florida and currently creates his work in Boston, MA. He received a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2005. Since that time, Jenkins has become a recipient of the 2019 James and Audrey Foster Prize awarded annually by the Institute of Contemporary Art / Boston. In 2016, he was named Emerging Artist of the year at Kingston Gallery in Boston, MA, Jenkins is a recipient of the 2015 Blanche E. Colman Award and in 2002 received the Rob Moore Grant in Painting. He has exhibited his work most recently at venues such as Abigail Ogilvy Gallery (Boston), The Painting Center (NY), Suffolk University Gallery (Boston), and Oasis Gallery (Beijing). Jenkins donates annually to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design Auction which supports student scholarships.

Katelyn Ledford is an artist living and working in Boston, Massachusetts, but born and bred in the American South. She received her MFA in Painting at the Rhode Island School of Design in 2019. Ledford’s work is a consideration of the role of images in shaping the curated portrait of women at large and individually while also reflecting on the complex and often painful reality of what it means to be a woman and artist. She uses appropriated images sourced from historical paintings, television shows, social media, and Google fever dreams while contrasting them against improvisational symbols and shapes in order to create deconstructed portraits. The tone across her work lies in a mix of cynicism, humor, and absurdist logic— like the feeling of sucking on a sour candy, you smile through the pain and pleasure.

Ledford was featured in SPRING/BREAK Art Show 2020 in a two-person booth, “The Person- Less Portrait,” curated by Abigail Ogilvy Gallery. She has been featured in exhibitions internationally with select group exhibitions at Monya Rowe Gallery, New York, NY; Public Gallery, London, UK; Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA; and Plan X Art Gallery, Milan, IT.

Kristina McComb's practice focuses on the intersection of photography and sculpture. Through layering images and light, McComb examines the passing of time, merging past, present, and future in a haunting composition. Present is one in a three-part series of lightbox sculptures. Printed on acetate and suspended in backlit steel structures, McComb’s photographs drift and overlap, appearing fragile and untethered. She arranges selected fragments from a range of different shots into one coherent image, defined by their relationships with each other. The foreground is sharp and clear, while the background layers blur into ghosts of the original image. This subtle play of light, line, and texture creates a delicate exploration of transience versus permanence.

Kristina McComb is an interdisciplinary artist from Western Mass. She graduated with Distinction from Greenfield Community College, receiving her Associates of Science in Visual Art with a concentration in Photography. McComb also holds a BFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. Her work has been exhibited since 2014, most notably at the Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center in Brattleboro, VT and the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts.

Susan Murie is a New England-based artist. She most recently exhibited at the Members Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, 2021 and was awarded Artist of the Year by juror Ben Sloat, Director of the MFA in Visual Arts program at Lesley Art + Design in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Susan was also awarded a CAA Artist of the Year, Members Prize Show, 2020, by juror Jessica Roscio, Curator, Danforth Art Museum at Framingham State University. Her artwork was published in the London-based INKQ, Inky Leaves Publishing, Issue 9, Spring 2020 as well as featured in The Hand Magazine, Issue #26 in the Fall of 2019. Her work was juried into and sold at the MassArt Auction in 2020 and 2019 and is juried into the 2021 auction as well. Murie’s work has been featured on The Curated Fridge, Autumn 2018 Show (Somerville, MA) curated by Kat Kiernan Editor-in-Chief of the photography magazine Don’t Take Pictures, and The Curated Fridge, Spring 2018 Show curated by Francine Weiss Senior Curator, Newport Art Museum. In addition to private collections, Murie’s work is in the permanent collection of Fidelity and the City of Somerville.

Wilhelm Neusser’s artwork has been widely exhibited and he has received numerous awards and fellowships. His recent museum exhibitions include the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, 2019), the Fruitlands Museum (Harvard, MA, 2019), and MASS MoCa (North Adams, MA, 2018). In 2020 he was honored with a finalist grant in Painting from the Mass Cultural Council. Additional awards and recognition include the MASS MoCA Studio Program (2017), Vermont Studio Center (2013), Finalist, Wilhelm-Morgner-Prize, Soest (2010), International Artist in Residence, Boots Contemporary Art Space (St. Louis, MO, 2009), ZVAB Phönix Art Prize (2007). Neusser’s work has been included in notable publications, including The Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, Artscope Magazine, Boston.com, and Big Red & Shiny.

Wilhelm Neusser was born in Cologne, Germany. He relocated to the United States in 2011, and currently lives and works in Somerville, MA.

Haley Wood, WOAD, Page 1

Haley Wood is a fiber artist, surface designer, and musician living in Boston, MA. She has recently received her BFA in Fibers at Massachusetts College of Art & Design. Haley is influenced by 1960’s and 70’s folk horror films, illuminated manuscripts, mid century home decor, and her Omi. She also plays guitar and violin for the Croaks.

Natalia Wróbel is an artist based in Encinitas, CA after spending time in New York City, Boston, Amsterdam, and Berlin. Wrobel studied Studio Art and Art History at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. She furthered her study at the Lorenzo de'Medici Institute in Florence and then the New York Studio School (NYSS). She received the NYSS Mercedes Matter Fellowship in 2012, and the Murray Art Prize in 2015. In 2017, Wrobel completed a painting residency at the Berlin Art Institute. Her work has been featured at international art fairs including Art Basel: Miami, Texas Contemporary, and Art SouthHampton and has been an official selection at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and MassArt Auction. Her paintings have been featured in publications in the US and Europe, in coursework at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and are included in public and private collections around the United States, Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia. Wrobel's work is represented by Abigail Ogilvy Gallery in Boston, MA.

Artist Spotlight: Teddy Benfield

Abigail Ogilvy Gallery is thrilled to represent the artwork of local artist, Teddy Benfield. Recently we sat down with Teddy to talk about his artwork and inspiration:

Abigail Ogilvy: How were you introduced to the arts, and how did you know you wanted to pursue it?

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Image courtesy of Teddy Benfield

Teddy Benfield: I was introduced to the arts at a young age. My earliest memories were from more of an appreciation stand point. My uncle, Dennis O’Brien (1948-2021) was a lifelong artist whose illustrations are some of my first memories - a combination of looking at both his work and collection of art books. My parents also brought my brother and me to the museums of NYC on a yearly trip to visit family as we grew up in Southeastern Connecticut. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college that I began to paint and draw with inspiration from my professor, Walter Hatke. His encouragement gave me the inspiration to start creating at a rapid pace - also maybe to make up for lost time… and furthermore, pursue an MFA and a career as an artist, which has led me to where I am today.

AOG: If you had to explain yourself in one sentence, who is Teddy Benfield?

TB: If I were to describe myself in one sentence it would include where I’m from (Mystic, CT) and where I live (Boston, MA). It would include my values of balancing hard work and passion with creativity and positivity. And it would also include that I love dogs, surfing, cooking, and the Red Sox.

AOG: You very recently earned a certificate in sneaker design from FIT, has this influenced the way you paint or make aesthetic choices across your other disciplines?

TB: The class I took has not really influenced my paintings. However, since then, I have been exploring the world of graphic design, marketing and logo design, an interest that started during the COVID-19 quarantine.

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Image courtesy of Teddy Benfield

AOG: In your paintings, you have these loud, vibrant signatures on both the front and all over the backs. Tell us more about these!

TB: My signature started with my mother insisting that my brother and I sign the front of doodles that would hang on the fridge. As I began to create paintings and large bodies of work, I looked at my signature from more of a graffiti / mark-making stand point. In grad-school I was discouraged from signing my paintings on the front of the canvas, which is why the back of the canvas began to become more elaborate. Besides that I always liked how historically, artists would sign the front of the canvas, whether hidden or obvious. The element of specific mark-making is a key design element in my work so the signature on both front and back have sort of morphed into that as well- a signature of a design element.

AOG: Your photographs show these beautifully crafted, hand-made paper still lifes, often positioned as diptychs. Can you tell us more about this series and how the meaning of the still life has evolved for you?

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Teddy Benfield, Untitled (New England Fishery Paper Studies / Vanitas) Clams, 2018. Photograph/Archival Inkjet Print with Handmade Paper, Acrylic Paint, House Paint, Ink, China Marker and Found Objects. 36 x 36 in.

TB:  The series of hand made paper objects started in my final year of grad school. I took a papermaking class honestly as a “senior spring” credit only to fall in love with the process. I quickly realized that this process to me, felt like a 3D rendering of my usual paint on canvas process. I began to create a series based on traditional Dutch still life and Vanitas / Memento Mori details that are historically found in the still life genre. The following summer I created more in this series while on a residency at the Vermont Studio Center, focusing on the passing of time, before and after, push and pull and some of the contradicting details found within the Vanitas elements of still life work. In my photographs of summer cookouts, beer pong games and bouquets of flowers, a clear before and after shadows the traditional Vanitas meaning of life/ death in order to create a playful approach to the morose. While paying homage to the Dutch masters, these still life set ups not only contain real items (food, beer, flowers, etc…) they comment on the process of trade and consumption.

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Teddy Benfield, Untitled (Wildflowers of Southeastern Connecticut 2), 2020, Signed on recto and verso. House paint, acrylic paint, oil pastel, krink ink, china marker, spray paint on canvas. 27 x 27 in.

AOG: We see a lot of motifs repeated throughout your work, such as the classic checkerboard pattern, flora, sports, and even logos. Can you tell us a bit more about what these motifs mean to you?

TB:  I believe my repetitive use of motifs can be rooted in branding and marketplace culture. Growing up in the 90’s/00’s, I feel the beginning of internet culture, cartoons and skateboarding play and huge part in inspiring some of the design decisions I make today. I have always had an appreciation for logos and branding which stem from growing up around skateboard culture and as a lifelong sports fan, logos and branding enter my work that way as well. As these have developed and taken on my own style I believe the checkerboard specifically has taken on its own form from a combination of skateboarding and the Americana American diner / kitchen floor.  

AOG: Do you have any advice for future artists?

TB: My advice to future artists would be set goals for yourself both daily and long term in all aspects of life. I believe that a good way of marking personal success is through a combination of balance and achieving the things you set out for yourself. I try to give myself timelines and checklists in order to push myself and with that allow goals and challenges to overlap. A characteristic that I think is essential to success as an artist is self-determination. To me, nothing can be achieved to its fullest until you believe in yourself and what you are doing no matter the magnitude