Ivy Brown Gallery is proud to present a new body of magical work by Ashley Benton- Less than a reality more than a Dream. Her creatures will bring you into her playful and thoughtful process each one has a distinct personality that will let you into her world. Benton’s have titles that will lead you to understanding them and the times we live in such as ‘Finn, wants to go back and see his friends’ we can all relate to Finn these days.
‘My work begins with the subtle impressions left from living a life. I use recurring imagery of rabbits, birds, wings, hoods and caps, flora even missing body parts almost like a key to a map. The recurring images can be symbolic of a tendency, a comment on a belief or an anecdote. While I am working it is like a private message between me and the piece, which becomes a public conversation inviting the viewer to have their own experience. Occasionally it turns out it is the same experience for the viewer as it was for me and this reveals our commonality. This is important to me because we all have our individual story. It lingers in the unconscious. My work can act as a retrieval cue. Stories, poems, songs, relationships are all there until I start to daydream getting out of the thinking mind. I can let any new version be told much like a writer of fiction. There are silver linings, dead ends, sharp curves, love, loss, vulnerability, blue skies, dark clouds, deep water and pretty little things. We have our own version of all these things. It is what makes us unique as well as binds us together and it all hovers between reality and a dream.’
The exhibition is ongoing through April 9th, 202. It can be on Artsy – https://www.artsy.net/ivy-brown-gallery/shows. It is also possible to view the exhibition at the Ivy Brown Gallery by appointment only.
