Overview

Contemporary artist Betsy Eby embraces big themes and her work is pervaded by spirituality and sublimity, as are the paintings of Anselm Kiefer and Cy Twombly, two artists she much admires. A practising pianist, Eby creates sublime images of nature that are as deeply influenced by classical music as by a sense of place. Eby aims to connect to the energy found in living things, seeking rhythm and lyricism in the natural world that she then translates onto canvas. Today her work reveals that interconnected sensitivity: her delicate, organic compositions become synesthesias of sound and image.

 ‘I was born in Seaside, Oregon where the wild Pacific Ocean and the grandeur of nature informed me.’

 

Eby uses the technique of wax encaustic, an ancient process by which layers of pigments, sap and wax are fused together by the flame of a torch. Through this layering process the passage of time is visible. Her works move between dynamic surfaces and deep luminous spaces on the canvas, creating a depth in the canvas as forms are obscured or highlighted. Her meditative practice distils her subjects into something mystical, hovering between the material and immaterial, creating compositions that speak to the infinite and timeless.

Works
Studio shots
Biography

Betsy Eby was born in Seaside Oregon in 1967 and currently lives and works in Columbus, Georgia and Wheaton Island, Maine. Eby earned her BA in Art History at the University of Oregon in 1990 and has since exhibited her artworks widely, showing across the United States and Europe. Her works are held in numerous public and private collections including the Tacoma Museum of Art and the Columbus Museum of Art.

 

Education
1990   BA Art History, University of Oregon

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2022   'This Is Where I Begin', Winston Wachter Fine Art, New York, NY (work shown since 2003)
2021   'You Are The Sky', Octavia Gallery, Rockland ME, USA
2017   'Frequency', Cadogan Gallery, London
2015   'Southern Spirituals', Winston Wachter Fine Art, Seattle WA (work shown since 2002)
2012   'Ayres and Fantasies', David Klein Gallery, Birmingham, MI

 

selected Group EXHIBITIONS
2021   'Songs Without Words: The Art of Music', Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, NY
2021   'From The Inside Out', Gross McLeaf Gallery, Philadelphia
2015   '180 Degrees', The Curator Gallery, NY
2009   'Lasting Legacies: The First 75 Years', Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Eugene, Oregon.
2004   New York Contemporary in Greenwich, Greenwich, CT
1999   'Encaustic Works 99', Sponsor’s Award, Jurored by Judith Pfaff, Watermark Cargo Gallery, Kingston, NY
     'Artwork for AIDS', Seattle Center Gallery, Seattle, WA

 

Selected Collections

Jordan Schnitzer Museum, Eugene, OR
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
United States Embassy, Dubai, UAE, Permanent Collection
2008–2010, United States Embassy, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
2004–2006, United States Embassy, Banjul, Gambia
Boeing Corporate Headquarters, Chicago, IL
Trump Tower, Atlantic City, NJ
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
Nordstrom Inc., National Collection
Beverly Hills Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA
Saks Fifth Avenue, Phoenix, AZ
Ritz Carlton, Rancho Mirage, CA
Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, CA

Press