Benjamin Nelson is an artist living and working in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He received his BFA from Temple's Tyler School of Art and is currently documenting the landscapes that surround him.
My work is about finding harmony amidst crowded chaos. There is a constant struggle within the wilderness of interwoven dominating forms, competing with one another for space and life, and still they appear peaceful in a framed view.
The work also reflects the accumulation of layers, both natural and manmade, and the impact they have on the earth’s surface. I am interested in the ever growing pieces within the natural landscape and the strength they possess through their diversity. I see diversity as the constant evolution of various ecosystems, vegetation, water, soil, and how this occurs both by man’s intention and naturally through time. We build up and tear down, push and pull, make and break but still find this to be the source for growth and change.
At first glance, my art is a depiction of the landscape. However, it is a reflection of my values and lifestyle. My artwork is an opportunity to learn more about my natural surroundings - an expression of my interaction with nature not only as an observer but as a participant. This interaction plays a crucial role in how I capture the power and voice of my subject. The work is comprised of broken down form, tone, mark, and color. Ever evolving, my painting's surface becomes a representation of my interaction with the landscape as it becomes a new surface to explore and to interpret.
There are forces that change the landscape and I too change how they appear in my work. I do not intend to simply document the scenery before me but to use it as a catalyst to investigate the landscape and its depiction. Over the years, I have studied this relationship through the exploration of content, materials, and approach. Just as the pushing and pulling of natural and manmade has altered the landscape, I emphasize and dramatize the scenes to be in my own point of view.