MJ Benson (b. 1967) is a multidisciplinary artist living and working on the coast of Maine. Her work is anchored by the illusory horizon, and addresses the reflection of the earth, sky and water within our human experience. As a painter, she works in bold and expressive gestures and colors, with an emphasis on abstraction rooted by the familiar. She works with oil, acrylic, watercolor and encaustic paint, incorporating earth pigments, ocean/lake water and found objects in her primary pieces. Beyond her of deeper bodies of work in paint, photography and printmaking, MJ is an active explorer of materials. Recent work includes narrative fiber, turkey wing brooms using recycled materials, blacksmithing smithing, ceramics using salt water glazes, and extruded and melted sculptures from plastic and paper packaging.
She has a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and an EdM from Harvard University. Her work has been exhibited and collected internationally. She is a recipient of a Maine Arts Commission Project Grant for Artists, 2022, and had solo shows at Maine Audubon Gilsland Farm Gallery and the Maine State House for the National Endowment For The Arts Arts In The Capitol Program. She is a Professor in the Communications & New Media/Studio Arts Departments at Southern Maine Community College.
She has a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and an EdM from Harvard University. Her work has been exhibited and collected internationally. She is a recipient of a Maine Arts Commission Project Grant for Artists, 2022, and had solo shows at Maine Audubon Gilsland Farm Gallery and the Maine State House for the National Endowment For The Arts Arts In The Capitol Program. She is a Professor in the Communications & New Media/Studio Arts Departments at Southern Maine Community College.
ARTIST STATEMENT
"I begin with the horizon of an idea, a steadiness between abstract and concrete. In between are layers and layers of materials, ideas manifested from memory but unbound by realism. I use a framework, a few rules around composition or color, but it’s the tension between what I expect and what the process is telling me that dictates the flow and finish. I work, and wait, until the profound shifting between object and memory stills itself harmoniously.”
"I begin with the horizon of an idea, a steadiness between abstract and concrete. In between are layers and layers of materials, ideas manifested from memory but unbound by realism. I use a framework, a few rules around composition or color, but it’s the tension between what I expect and what the process is telling me that dictates the flow and finish. I work, and wait, until the profound shifting between object and memory stills itself harmoniously.”
ARTIST STORY (SO FAR) 2022
SELECTED EXHIBITS
Solo:
The Francis - Portland, ME - April-June 2025
Maine Audubon - Experimental Works on Paper - November 2023-January 2024
Taking Up Space, Experiments in the Studio - Thrive Together Network- May 2022 & 2023
Maine State House - Recent Work - Augusta, ME - September 2021-February 2022
The Francis, Maine - Recent Works - August-December 2018
Townsend Art Gallery - Summer 2017
Juried Group:
AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH - Shape/Shift: Objects and Non-Objectives - March-April 2025
Newburyport Arts - Annual Photography Show - Newburyport, MA - April 2025
Newburyport Arts - Elements Show - Newburyport, MA - February-March 2025
National Association of Women In the Arts - Small Works - New York, New York - Jan-Feb 2025
Sidle House Gallery - Winter Show - Freeport, ME - November-December 2024
Kennebunk River Club Invitational Exhibition - Kennebunkport, ME - August 2023 & 2024
3S Art Space - Printmaking Exhibition - Portsmouth, NH, August 2024
Kerr Jones, East Boothbay, ME - Featured Artist - Summer 2024
COLLECT Show - Maine College of Art & Design - July 2023 & June 2024
Dwell - Taking.Up.Space - Mystic Open Studios, Arlington, MA - May 2024
Maine Evergreen Hotel - Featured Maine Artist - 2023/2024
State of Maine Employees Exhibition - Maine State House - July - October 2023
Living Systems - Fluid & Fragile - Governor’s Academy, MA - April-May 2023
Stay At Home Gallery Warmth Exhibit - Paris, TN - January-March 2022 (fiber)
Archipelago Gallery - Recent Works - Rockland, ME - October 2021 - February 2022
Brush With Nature, Maine Audubon Society, Plein Air Event and Auction, September 2021
3S Art Space - Transitions & Meditations - Portsmouth, NH, July 2-August 22, 2021
Portland Art Gallery - Featured Artist - 2/2018, 3/2019, 11/2020, 11/2022
Boxed Art Gallery, Tufts University - June 2020
Down East Magazine Art of Giving Gala, Featured Artist - 2017/2018
Cape Elizabeth Land Trust Paint for Preservation - 2017/2018
Maine Home & Design Magazine - Ones to Watch - December 2017
School of the Museum of Fine Arts Art Sale - Medici Artist - 2015-2024
Yarmouth Art Festival, Yarmouth, ME - October 2016 & 2017
AWARDS
Maine Arts Commission, Project Grant, 2022
Maine Arts Good Idea Grant, 2007
TEACHING
Southern Maine Community College - Adjunct Professor, Communications & New Media Studies
EDUCATION
Harvard University - EdM, 2000 (Arts in Education)
School of the Museum of Fine Art/Tufts University - BFA, 1995 (Photography)
Courses: Haystack Mountain School (Drawing, Pastels, Blacksmithing, Bladesmithing), Maine College of Art (Painting, Collage), NYC Crit Club Advanced Drawing & Painting with Judy Glantzman, Southern Maine Community College (Ceramics, Sculpture)
Solo:
The Francis - Portland, ME - April-June 2025
Maine Audubon - Experimental Works on Paper - November 2023-January 2024
Taking Up Space, Experiments in the Studio - Thrive Together Network- May 2022 & 2023
Maine State House - Recent Work - Augusta, ME - September 2021-February 2022
The Francis, Maine - Recent Works - August-December 2018
Townsend Art Gallery - Summer 2017
Juried Group:
AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH - Shape/Shift: Objects and Non-Objectives - March-April 2025
Newburyport Arts - Annual Photography Show - Newburyport, MA - April 2025
Newburyport Arts - Elements Show - Newburyport, MA - February-March 2025
National Association of Women In the Arts - Small Works - New York, New York - Jan-Feb 2025
Sidle House Gallery - Winter Show - Freeport, ME - November-December 2024
Kennebunk River Club Invitational Exhibition - Kennebunkport, ME - August 2023 & 2024
3S Art Space - Printmaking Exhibition - Portsmouth, NH, August 2024
Kerr Jones, East Boothbay, ME - Featured Artist - Summer 2024
COLLECT Show - Maine College of Art & Design - July 2023 & June 2024
Dwell - Taking.Up.Space - Mystic Open Studios, Arlington, MA - May 2024
Maine Evergreen Hotel - Featured Maine Artist - 2023/2024
State of Maine Employees Exhibition - Maine State House - July - October 2023
Living Systems - Fluid & Fragile - Governor’s Academy, MA - April-May 2023
Stay At Home Gallery Warmth Exhibit - Paris, TN - January-March 2022 (fiber)
Archipelago Gallery - Recent Works - Rockland, ME - October 2021 - February 2022
Brush With Nature, Maine Audubon Society, Plein Air Event and Auction, September 2021
3S Art Space - Transitions & Meditations - Portsmouth, NH, July 2-August 22, 2021
Portland Art Gallery - Featured Artist - 2/2018, 3/2019, 11/2020, 11/2022
Boxed Art Gallery, Tufts University - June 2020
Down East Magazine Art of Giving Gala, Featured Artist - 2017/2018
Cape Elizabeth Land Trust Paint for Preservation - 2017/2018
Maine Home & Design Magazine - Ones to Watch - December 2017
School of the Museum of Fine Arts Art Sale - Medici Artist - 2015-2024
Yarmouth Art Festival, Yarmouth, ME - October 2016 & 2017
AWARDS
Maine Arts Commission, Project Grant, 2022
Maine Arts Good Idea Grant, 2007
TEACHING
Southern Maine Community College - Adjunct Professor, Communications & New Media Studies
EDUCATION
Harvard University - EdM, 2000 (Arts in Education)
School of the Museum of Fine Art/Tufts University - BFA, 1995 (Photography)
Courses: Haystack Mountain School (Drawing, Pastels, Blacksmithing, Bladesmithing), Maine College of Art (Painting, Collage), NYC Crit Club Advanced Drawing & Painting with Judy Glantzman, Southern Maine Community College (Ceramics, Sculpture)
VIDEOS