The paintings in this book combine my ideas about the role of value in the study of color with the realistic tradition of painting on copper plates that goes back to the 1400s. Painting on copper was restricted at that time, almost exclusively to liturgical and devotional painting in Flanders and to some degree in Italy. Within this tradition is the classic dichotomy between the painting's function as an object to be looked at as well as a window to be looked through. In exploring those competitive ideas, I've carefully chosen subjects that are delicate in nature like flowers, glass and seashells. In order to take advantage of their delicacy, I've contrasted them with their copper supports and in many passages, the painterly way I've depicted these objects. My hope is that the visual tension created between their physical presence, their delicate realism and their calculated coloring will make for a compelling aesthetic experience.
born: 1974, Hartford, Connecticut
education:
Fontbonne University, Master of Fine Arts Painting, 1999
Central Connecticut State University, Bachelor of Arts Illustration, 1996
selected awards/honors
Best Oil Painting, 79th Annual Hudson Valley Art Association 2010 National Exhibition, National Arts Club, NY, NY
2nd Place: Still Life, 25th Annual Artist‚s Magazine Art Competition, 2008
Mervin Honig Memorial Award, 93rd Allied Artists of America National Exhibition 2006, National Arts Club, New York, New York
selected publications
2009 International Drawing Annual 5, Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center
2006 National Drawing Annual, Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center
2005 National Drawing Annual, Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center
selected
solo or two-person exhibits
Color the Object: Paintings by Benjamin J. Shamback, Fontbonne University Gallery, Fontbonne University, 2010
Paintings: Benjamin J. Shamback, Hidell Brooks Gallery, Charlotte, North Carolina, 2010
2009 Oil on Copper: Paintings by Benjamin J. Shamback, LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, 2009
