BENJAMIN JONES
Blending elements of whimsy and horror, humor and darkness, his figures inhabit an ambiguous territory where innocence meets disturbance and the familiar becomes unexpected. Through meticulously rendered drawings, Jones examines the contradictions of human existence, transforming personal observations and emotional tensions into images that resonate with universal experiences. His work balances spontaneity and intuition with a remarkable refinement of technique, creating compositions that are at once disarming and deeply introspective.
ABOUT
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1954, Jones received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the State University of West Georgia. Over the course of his career, he has exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally, with solo exhibitions at institutions and galleries including the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Barbara Archer Gallery, John Martin Gallery in London, and Stewart Gallery. His work has also been presented at Art London and Art LA, as well as in significant group exhibitions at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Jones' work is represented in some of the most distinguished museum collections in the United States. Notably, seven of his works belong to the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Other institutions holding his work include the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the J.B. Speed Art Museum, the Morris Museum of Art, and the Huntsville Museum of Art.
ARTWORK
BIOGRAPHY
2019
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Solo exhibition, BENJAMIN JONES SPEAKING, The Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia, Atlanta, Georgia
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Solo exhibition, SALT ISLAND, Whitespace Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
2018
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Group exhibition, THE ARTIST EXHIBITION, Laney Contemporary, Savannah, Georgia
2017
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Group exhibition, WORK ON PAPER, Stewart Gallery, Boise, Idaho
2016
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Group exhibition, LINE, Stewart Gallery, Boise, Idaho.
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Group exhibition, ART ON PAPER, New York, New York.
2015
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Solo exhibition, OBSERVATIONS, Stewart Gallery, Boise, Idaho.
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Group exhibition, THE DRAWING EXPERIMENT, Chastain Arts Center Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
2013
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Group exhibition, DRAWING INSIDE THE PERIMETER, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, 4 × 4, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
2009
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Group exhibition, BENJAMIN JONES @ ART LA, Stewart Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
2008
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Solo exhibition, SINS + VIRTUES, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Solo exhibition, DRAWING A DIVERSION, John Martin Gallery, London, England.
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Group exhibition, MASTER DRAWINGS LONDON, London, England.
2006
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Solo exhibition, BENJAMIN JONES @ ART LONDON, Royal Hospital Chelsea, London, England.
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Solo exhibition, BENJAMIN JONES, Barbara Archer Gallery, Savannah, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, OBJECTS OF DESIRE, Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland.
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Group exhibition, GRAPHIC EXPRESSIONS: AMERICAN WORKS ON PAPER FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, EVIDENCE: PAPER WORKS, The Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, Georgia.
2005
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Solo exhibition, THE ALEXANDER HOMAGE DRAWING SERIES, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, RECENT ACQUISITIONS, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Group exhibition, DRAWING CONCLUSIONS, Georgia State University Rialto Center for the Performing Arts, Atlanta, Georgia.
2004
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Solo exhibition, BENJAMIN JONES DRAWING, Lamar Dodd School of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.
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Solo exhibition, DRAWING, 1708 Gallery, Richmond, Virginia.
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Solo exhibition, ISOLATION, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Solo exhibition, FIGURE, Gray Matters Gallery, Dallas, Texas.
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Group exhibition, CONTEMPORARY SOUTHERN DRAWINGS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, FREEDOM SALON, Deitch Projects, New York, New York.
2003
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Group exhibition, reading: material, Volume Gallery, New York, New York.
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Award: The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Individual Artist Grant
2002
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Solo exhibition, WORKS ON PAPER, 1987–2002, Barbara Archer Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, GEORGIA TRIENNIAL, City Gallery East, Atlanta, Georgia.
1998
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Solo exhibition, A SHORT LIFE, Sandler Hudson, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, NEW ORLEANS TRIENNIAL, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana.
1997
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Award: Residency Fellowship, The Hambidge Center, Rabun Gap, Georgia.
1995
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Group exhibition, NEW ORLEANS TRIENNIAL, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana.
1994
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Solo exhibition, DR. FRANKENSTEIN'S ANIMAL SHOW, Mattress Factory Building, Atlanta, Georgia.
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Group exhibition, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS AND SOUTHERN ARTS FEDERATION REGIONAL FELLOWS, Southeast Center of Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
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Group exhibition, CREATING IN CRISIS: MAKING ART IN THE MIDST OF AIDS, Spaces Contemporary Art Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
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Award: National Endowment for the Arts and Southern Arts Federation Regional Fellowship.
1993
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Award: Georgia Council for the Arts, Individual Artist Grant in Drawing.
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Solo exhibition, NATURE'S ODDITY, Billboard, Arts Festival of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia.