Each meticulous painting Ben Styer offers the world tells a mystifying and poetic story. His works are enigmatic, compelling us to piece together collage-like puzzles, yet they invite us in with open arms. An undeniable sense of nostalgia permeates these pieces, drawing us in like déjà vu or a familiar song playing in the distance that we cannot quite make out. We feel a connection, even while recognizing that our imagined versions of what we are hearing or seeing differ significantly from their actual forms. By encouraging viewers to personalize their experiences and fill in the gaps, every person experiences something completely unique within these paintings, making the scenes feel even more magical and accessible.

Like an obsessive collector, Styer channels his energy into documenting the treasures he has gathered throughout his life. He faithfully reproduces every element and object that appears in his paintings, including postcards, small music boxes, stamps, quirky statues, advertisements, old photographs, and even his own drawings. Each canvas functions like a cabinet of curiosities to help the artist process and understand the world around him while also reflecting on his own existence.

The actual collections that inspire Styer’s paintings are too precious and personal to let go of, but he cleverly gives them new life through his art. The paintings are created instinctually, free from the pressure of having to fully decipher their meaning, and the steady stream of images emerging from his hand and mind possesses a freedom similar to childhood doodles or other youthful musings. This open approach imbues the works with an abstract sense of hope and comfort, something we could all use a bit more of in today's world.

Ben Styer (b. 1990 Boston, MA) lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. He received his BFA from the University of Massachusetts in 2015 and has had solo presentations at SHRINE (New York, NY) and Moskowitz Bayse (Los Angeles, CA). Styer was included in a group presentation at Fortnight Institute (New York, NY), and his work is a part of the permanent collection of the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX.