Benjamin Boss is an artist living and working in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He paints in a gestural, intuitive, and expressive style. His work is about color, feelings, memory, place, and desire. Of the many influences on his work are Joan Mitchell, Cy Twombly, and Helen Frankenthaler. Benjamin is also a librarian at KCAD Library where he is surrounded by thousands of art books that help inform his practice. When not painting, he enjoys spending time in his flower garden or at Lake Michigan, both of which provide inspiration for his art.

His works are in private collections throughout the United States. Several pieces have been featured in Vanity Fair (UK edition) and World of Interiors.

Artist Statement

I create images based upon feelings and memories. My work is expressed primarily through abstraction, sometimes landscape painting, and often somewhere in-between. When I begin a painting I start with a feeling and the color to match. Then I apply the following strokes of color intuitively as I listen to where the painting wants to go. For me, the process is much like a dance. I use quick and active gestures, drips, and splashes of paint to both reveal the process of making and the materiality of paint on canvas. The paintings are typically energetic, lyrical, and expressive. I paint from a place of wonder and in astonishment of this beautiful and mystifying world. My desire is for the viewer to connect with the piece through deep feelings of joy, sadness, longing, or hope.

 Exhibitions

  • Gallery in the Woods, Newaygo, Michigan, October 14, 2023.

  • Elations, solo show at 106 Gallery, Grand Rapids, September 15-October 15, 2022.

  • Infinite Futures - an ArtPrize 2022 exhibition, KCAD’s Alluvium Gallery, Grand Rapids, August-October 2022.

  • Featured Artist, solo show at Perrin Brewing, Comstock Park, February 2022.

  • WordView, Lowell Arts Gallery, January-February 2022.

  • ArtPrize 2021, Peppino’s Downtown, Grand Rapids, September 16-October 3, 2021.

  • Regional Arts Exhibition, Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, June-July 2021.

  • GETAWAY, Lowell Arts Gallery, May-June 2021.

  • AlePrize, Harmony Brewing, Grand Rapids, October 2020.

  • Select Works by Benjamin Boss and Douglas Titus, Harmony Brewing, Grand Rapids, December 2019.

    Publication and Media Features

  • Meet the Artist interview with WOOD-TV8, September 2022.

  • World of Interiors, July, August and September 2021 issues.

  • VanityFair (UK edition) and VanityFair Finds (online), April, May and June 2021 issues.