B E N J I S T I L E S
In his largest solo exhibition to date, Benji Stiles presents around thirty-five multidisciplinary works from the past four years that span painting, drawing, found object and video, at Reeves Art + Design. Individually the works stand alone, but they function collectively, benefitting from nuanced and kaleidoscopic connections with other works in the show The paintings and drawings on linen, Duralar, wood and cardboard vary in scale from quite small to quite large, and are stretched, unstretched, wall mounted and leaning against walls. The found object works embrace physical forces such as weight, space, gravity, density and sparseness. Benji’s videos are painterly, soft, quietly humming with a slow building power, the kind that pulls the rug out from under you The curation of the show mirrors the construction of Benji’s multidisciplinary works – they are overflowing with a wide variety of marks, shapes, meanings, relationships, approaches and solutions. These works feel as though they are carrying as much visual information as possible without falling apart They are brimming, teaming, bursting, swarming, erupting, pooling, collecting, building, and crystalizing. They feel part of a greater system, with a greater purpose.
Benji is the kind of person who wants to find a place for everyone, everything, every idea, every way of making He holds a lot in his heart and carefully finds space for it all in the world, which is part of what makes Benji such a beautiful person, artist, teacher and curator. For Benji, everyone and everything belongs. We became friends about six years ago, and I’ve watched Benji evolve, through countless studio visits, adventures to art exhibitions, walks around Memorial Park and in The Arboretum, and phone calls from MICA, where he is currently enrolled in graduate school in the transdisciplinary program. Benji is a guide to many, including his current and former students, artist friends, and myself. When I was struggling to find my way as an emerging artist, Benji included a painting of mine in my first show outside of a school setting He also was one of the first people to suggest that I start writing about art. His support has changed the course of my life, and I am forever grateful to Benji. This is a full circle moment for me and I am delighted to reflect on and write about Benji’s extraordinary work.
Benji is thoughtful, kind, inclusive and gentle in each aspect of his life, and these qualities are reflected in his multidisciplinary practice. Benji’s work is approachable, vulnerable, and imperfect. It has a searching quality that is meditative, philosophical and psychological. His works often carry multiple competing forces – singularity and continuity, confidence and humility, vulnerability and protection, beauty and awkwardness (which I see as a strength in the work), decisiveness and uncertainty, boldness and quietness. He has a desire to hold and express these disparate aspects of himself within a single work or a collection of works, making them complex, human and tender The resulting drawings,
paintings, found object sculptures and videos are slippery and tenuous The fabric that holds a painting, a sculpture, or by extension all people together, is stronger and more beautiful if we approach living and making through connection, inclusivity, love and care. At times this fabric can feel thin and wispy, as though we are holding on to something that is slipping away, which is visible in Benji’s work at times The strange and ephemeral nature of some of the works in the show are balanced by heavy, weighty, impactful, daring, and bold moments. Benji’s work leans into a sense of precarity, with striking moments of authority and clarity. The result is a refreshing sense of optimism for what is possible within a work of art and within our (art) world
With such an abundant web of connections between the works in this show, it is hard not to see them as being part of a whole. Their visual impact and meaning grows, adapts and shifts given their context with surrounding work It’s almost as if each piece is a letter or a word and collectively, they morph to create a sentence, a phrase, a kind of visual poetry, complex, synergistic and evocative. Repeated materials, gestures, marks, shapes, symbols, approaches and colors form a narrative about curiosity, intimacy, the body and domesticity At times there is a sense of belonging and community, at others a feeling of discord and isolation It makes me consider the state of our relationships, our homes, the spaces we inhabit, politics, the state of our country and world, division, action, participation, and the conditions in which we want to live and thrive. Benji is asking where things fit together, within a single painting, a collection of works, the Houston art scene and beyond
Benji’s inquiry into space, context and belonging is part of what makes him such a brilliant artist and devoted advocate for the Houston art community. These are questions that can be applied to his own life and really to any human on any day We are forever in search of meaning, connection, purpose and love for the things we hold dear.
Doug WelshCA267.2023.1004.5587
Benji Stiles Say it (Over & Over Again) 2021
Oil, Graphite, & Tinted Gesso on Canvas
H 20” x W 16” x D 088”
$400
CA267.2023.1004.5601
Benji Stiles
Halo #6
2023
Gouache & Watercolor on Found Cardboard
H 10” x W 18” x D 15”
$400
CA267.2023.1004.5602
Benji Stiles Comb / Window
2023
Gouache & Watercolor on Found Cardboard
H 135” x W 24” x D 2”
$400
CA267.2023.1004.5598
Benji Stiles !! 2023
Oil & Oil Stick on Canvas
H 60” x W 48” x D 175”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1004.5584
Benji Stiles Yellow Bruise 2023
Oil on Canvas
H 60” x W 48” x D 1 38”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1004.5579
Benji Stiles
Let it Slide 2023
Oil on Canvas
H 20” x W 24” x D 1.5”
$500
CA267.2023.1004.5595
Benji Stiles Soundscape 2023
Oil, Oil Stick, Charcoal, Graphite, & Paper on Canvas
H 50” x W 40” x D 1 88”
$3,000 wwwreevesartgalleryhoustoncom
CA267.2023.1004.5599
Benji Stiles System 1 2023
File Cabinet Labels on Graph Paper
H 22” x W 16” x D 0.13”
$600
CA267.2023.1004.5600
Benji Stiles System F 2023
Felt, Oil Stick, Gesso, & Mylar on Graph Paper
H 22” x W 16” x D 013”
$600
CA267.2023.1004.5581
Benji Stiles Withdrawn 2022
Oil, Oil Stick, Graphite, Wood, Rake Head, Book Cover, & Paper on Discarded Wooden Shelf
H 48” x W 505” x D 5”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1004.5597
Benji Stiles
Mars Rising Over Flesh 2021
Oil & Oil Bar on Canvas
H 50” x W 80” x D 2”
$7,000
CA267.2023.1004.5585
Benji Stiles
Keeping Time 2023
Gesso, Acrylic, Oil Stick & Plastic Survey Card on Found Textiles
H 65” x W 61” x D 013”
$6,000
CA267.2023.1004.5586
Benji Stiles
Drawing of a Sculpture #1 2022
Gesso, Oil Stick, & Acrylic on Linen
H 86 5” x W 104” x D 013”
$7,500 wwwreevesartgalleryhoustoncom
wwwreevesartgalleryhoustoncom
2415
CA267.2023.1004.5576
Benji Stiles
Yellow Corner 2023
Oil on Canvas
H 60” x W 48” x D 1 25”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1004.5580
Benji Stiles
Human Behavior 2023
Oil on Canvas
H 60” x W 48” x D 15”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1004.5577
Benji Stiles
The Struggle 2023
Oil & Acrylic on Linen
H 72” x W 72” x D 15”
$7,500
CA267.2023.1004.5575
Benji Stiles Yellow Bar 2023
Oil on Canvas
H 60” x W 48” x D 1.5”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1004.5574
Benji Stiles Pink Circles
2020
Oil, Oil Stick, & Graphite on Canvas
H 60” x W 48” x D 175”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1006.5607
Benji Stiles
Makes & Misses
2021
Found Backboard, Wood, Deconstructed Net, & Hubcap
H 71” x W 48” x D 55”
$5,000 wwwreevesartgalleryhoustoncom
CA267.2023.1004.5596
Benji Stiles
Railyard 2023
Cardboard, Metal Can, Ratchet Strap, & Used Tape
Dimensions Vary
$1,500
CA267.2023.1004.5606
Benji Stiles
Vessel 2023
Strap & Used Tape
H 17” x W 12” x D 3”
$500
CA267.2023.1004.5594
Benji Stiles
Carry the Weight 2023
Bathroom Tile, Shopping Cart Rack, & Strap
H 39” x W 28 5” x D 2 5”
$2,000
CA267.2023.1004.5582
Benji Stiles
Half Rainbow 2023
Gesso & Acrylic on Linen
H 72” x W 72” x D 15”
$7,500
CA267.2023.1004.5593
Benji Stiles
Background Silence 2022
Oil and Oil Stick on Duralar
H 40” x W 48” x D 013”
$1,500
CA267.2023.1004.5573
Benji Stiles
Remember I was Ruin 2023
Gesso, Acrylic, Oil, Found Paper, Grill Grate, & Plastic Barrier Pole on Linen
H 85” x W 96” x D 32”
$7,500
CA267.2023.1004.5592
Benji Stiles Step Around 2023
Found Cardboard and Concrete
H 11.5” x W 17” x D 6.5”
$400
CA267.2023.1004.5591
Benji Stiles Heavy 2023
Exhaust Manifold Cover
H 10” x W 9” x D 05”
$400
CA267.2023.1004.5605
Benji Stiles
Everlast 2021
Wood, Boxing Glove, Metal Chain, Plaster, Straw, & Acrylic Paint
H 42” x W 12” x D 11”
$3,000
CA267.2023.1004.5589
Benji Stiles Listening 2023
Watercolor & Gouache on Paper
H 30” x W 22” x D 0.13”
$300
CA267.2023.1004.5588
Benji Stiles A Productive Day of Nothing 2023
Gesso & Acrylic on Linen
H 72” x W 72” x D 15”
$7,500
CA267.2023.1004.5590
Benji Stiles Assembly #1 2023
Plastic Building Material, Found Wooden Object
H 24” x W 54” x D 20”
$1,500
CA267.2023.1004.5583
Benji Stiles
Flag 231 2023
Pigmen Tinted Plaster
H 62” x W 120” x D 1”
$12,000
CA267.2023.1004.5578
Benji Stiles Alone but moving 2023
Oil on Canvas
H 60” x W 48” x D 1.5”
$4,500
CA267.2023.1004.5604
Benji Stiles
Construction #2 2021
Wood, Armature Wire, Graph Paper, Plaster, Graphite, & Acrylic Paint
H 11” x W 15” x D 5”
$1,000
CA267.2023.1004.5603
Benji Stiles
Construction #1 2021
Wood, Armature Wire, Plaster, & Acrylic Paint
H 26” x W 13” x D 6”
$1,000