Guy Ben-Ari

Region: Northeast

My paintings are referential, figurative, narrative, and illustrative. My work deals with the complex relationship between Lacanian psychoanalytic theories and the medium of painting, while questioning the larger relationship of philosophy to art. In my recent work, I’ve been expanding my research of the illustrative by employing direct use of mental or visual exercises and text. This action calls to the possibility of being literal in a painting, in a self-referential gesture of questioning the efficacy and purpose of the medium.

My investigations into issues of timing, production modes, repetition, illustration and humor allow me to approach the study of painting’s theoretical potential, as a way to test its ultimate boundaries and possibilities. My process frees me to fluctuate between different levels of self-reference and self-consciousness. The dominant motivation of painting for me is the creative process functioning as an experiential learning process. My exploration of painting’s limitations allows me to simultaneously work through my own creative blocks and challenges.