Benjamin Guffee creates large-scale oil paintings of nature. Guffee is fascinated by the patterns and shapes in nature that first appear to be random, but in time, reveal themselves to be highly organized and structured. His work carries a distinct visual authenticity that resonates with the viewer.

Human brains are uniquely wired to view forms and connect them to our memories, existing knowledge and emotion. This resonance is crucial to all of Guffee’s work, from his plein air landscape paintings to the stripped-down works focusing on shape and pattern. He is drawn to the idea of simplifying images to the basic elements that resonate with a viewer’s mind. As the more literal references are eliminated from a work (for example, the use of naturalistic color or depiction of an identifiable scene), the viewer is called upon to engage his or her own memories and create a personal connection to the piece.

Guffee’s large-scale oil paintings are created with extensive layering of thin glazes of color. Traditional perspective techniques are eschewed in favor of a method of "stacking" layers to subtly create a sense of depth. The shapes present in the paintings are carefully duplicated from photo references of an actual place and moment.

Guffee is deeply interested in the lines that separate the abstract from the representational, including form, color, perspective and scale. It is his goal to explore these boundaries while maintaining the anchor of representational forms.

Benjamin Guffee was born and raised on the East Coast. He moved to central Mexico at the age of 21 and began pursuing a career as a painter. After several years in Guanajuato Mexico, Ben settled in St. Louis with his wife Jill and two young children.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2013, "Missouri Masters" series, Kodner Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2011, "Everyday Beauty", McCaughen & Burr, St. Louis, MO
2009, “Nature In Forms”, The Green Center, St. Louis, MO

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2023, Art Market San Francisco, with Stephanie Breitbard Fine Arts
2019 - 2023, Trunk Show, Stephanie Breitbard Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
2019, “On the Rocks”, Susan Eley Fine Art, New York, NY
2018, Pele Prints at the Epsten, Overland Park, KS
2017 - 2019, Ink Art Fair Miami, with Pele Prints
2017, Art on Paper, NY, with Pele Prints
2016, Aqua Art Miami, with Pele Prints
2011, "Our Great Waterways", group show at Kodner Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2011, "Best of Missouri Painters” at Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO
2009, “wood, metal and paint”, group show, Open Door Gallery, St. Louis, MO

COLLECTIONS

Norwegian Cruise Lines
Moneta, Denver, CO and St. Louis, MO
Fidelity Investments (placement in multiple USA offices)
Polsinelli, Denver, CO
NW Mutual, Atlanta, GA
MD Anderson Cancer Center, League City, TX
Convergent Wealth Management, St. Louis, MO
Private collections and corporate collections in locations including Saint Louis, MO, New York, NY, Boston, MA, San Francisco, CA, Mexico and Switzerland