BEN STEELE / JANUARY 1- MARCH 31
Ben Steele is perhaps Utah’s most celebrated resident painter. While the artist employs the techniques of some of the greats in the art history canon – without flaw, at that – his brilliance does not exclusively lie within painterly methodologies. Rather, it is exhibited through an innate sense of wit and shameless ability to make light of niche cultural idiosyncrasies occurring in pop culture.
'United States of Pop,' 2017, oil on canvas, 48 x 60 in., $20,800
'Salvador’s Soft Drink,' 2019, oil on canvas, 19 x 26 in., $3,600
'The Tabooist (limited edition print),' 2019, archival pigment print, 39 x 30 in., edition 10 of 12
'Modern Cookery,' 2022, oil on canvas, 34 x 44 in., $11,600
'Michaelangelob,' 2019, oil on canvas, 36 x 24 in., $6,400
'American Art Coloring Book,' 2022, oil on canvas, 72 x 60 in., $31,000
'Is it Appropriate,' 2018, oil on canvas, 40 x 44 in., $12,800
'Oh Boy Roy,' 2015, oil on canvas, 44 x 40 in., $9,700
Steele’s work does not depict something just for the sake of depicting. Every variable in the makeup of his compositions is a tool to reference another thing or idea. At times, he will replicate an entire notable artwork and trace it with a humorous twist – for example, Salvador’s Soft Drink is an identical landscape to Salvador Dali’s The Persistence of Memory, and in lieu of melting clocks, Steele opts to include the logos of well-known soft drink brands.
Ben Steele
Salvador’s Soft Drink, 2019
oil on canvas 19 x 26 in. $3,600
Other times, the artist will allude to these historical works within his own imagined world. As appears in Michaelangelob, the iconic fingertips of The Creation of Adam are wrapped across the packaging of a Michelob beer bottle. Steele is also renowned for his “crayon paintings” which typically yield the images of well-known Hollywood celebrities or recognizable landmarks across the face of vintage crayon boxes.
Ben Steele
Michaelangelob, 2019
oil on canvas 36 x 24 in. $6,400
Steele’s signature touch on each painting is, coincidentally, his signature. As he describes it, an artist’s autograph receives a “mythic” amount of significance and while many of his pieces employ a standard mark, several play into the aesthetic of the subject matter, leaving a characterized version in its place.
Steele was born and raised in Washington, but has been based in Utah since his teenage years. In 2002, the artist graduated with his BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Utah and continued his education at the Helper Workshops in Helper, UT, where he has initiated a full-time practice. His first studio space was fostered in a pair of downtown Helper storefronts, one half for painting and the other half for building canvases and frames. In the summer of 2019, Steele began a two-year adventure of converting a vacant bottling and beer distribution warehouse into a brand-new studio, the exterior decorated in murals honoring the rich mining and railroad history of Helper.
The artist’s work can be found in many personal and corporate collections, and he works full time in his studio painting and conceptualizing new and clever ways of depicting home and history.
“I like conceptual art,” said Steele in an interview with Salt Lake Magazine. “But often, I don’t need to see it. Other pieces are well-painted but not that meaningful. I like to blend those two worlds—concept and vision.”
For any questions on Ben Steele or artwork acquisition info, contact us at info@modernwestfineart.com.
Exterior images of Ben Steele’s Helper studio.
