Ben Junta
Biography
Ben Junta lives and works near the sea in Los Angeles, California. He has had a lifelong relationship with the ocean, still surfing weekly. Sitting on a surfboard in the ocean, literally being rocked by the rhythms of the water, he feels the connection of human interaction with the earth. This majesty and magic of the ocean, something that sustains us all and is of key importance in these current changing climate times, is something he chooses to explore and pay homage to in his painting.
Ben studied art as an undergrad at Middlebury College, UC Davis, and Occidental College. Post grad, he became deeply interested in Hans Hoffman’s legendary ideas of “push pull theory”, due to his studies with Wolf Kahn (himself a student of Hoffman), at the Santa Fe Art Institute. He went on to study under the likes of Bernard Chaet, who spent his career on the Yale Art Faculty, as well as John Walker, the 1972 Venice Biennale representative for Great Britain, and later a long-time member of the faculty at Boston University. He is a recipient of artist grants from the Vermont Studio Center, as well as the Cape Cod School of Art. He has exhibited his work on both the east and west coasts, as well as in Santa Fe, NM.
Artist Statement
I have a lifelong relationship with the ocean, still surfing weekly. Sitting on a surfboard in the ocean, literally being rocked by the rhythms of the water, I feel the connection of human interaction with the earth. This majesty and magic of the ocean, something that sustains us all and is of key importance in these current changing climate times, is something I explore and pay homage to in my painting.