About the Artist

The Art of Intimacy: Benji Alexander Palus

 

Benji Alexander Palus is a painter of closeness; intimacy. A figurative artist, Palus' paintings are an exploration and celebration of the universal divine feminine, but specifically as he sees it through just a handful of friends with whom he shares a deep emotional connection. He doesn't take commissions. He doesn't paint crowd scenes or strangers. Palus seeks to understand the solitary beauty of unique individuals whose openness and honesty have made an impact in his personal life. Says the artist,

 

It's difficult to convey the importance of my friendships with these few women who inspire me to paint. They are my art! They inspire me with the very fabric of who they are, down to their core – the way they love and live their lives, raise their families, overcome hardship and tragedy. There is a lot of romance in our friendships, but in a platonic sense - the romance of dancing in the rain, sharing a bottle of wine on an old bridge over a canal in Venice in the middle of the night, watching the setting sun in lonely desert hills, or gorging on wine and cheese until the sun rises, and always just the two of us. No one else is there to dilute the intensity of the meaning we find in each others' existence in that place and time. And then, they go back to their busy lives, and I go into the studio where they basically become my life as I strive to understand and express on the canvas those unique and mysterious qualities in them that I so admire. As we all get older it gets harder to spend time together but when we do, something just clicks. We talk and laugh and sometimes cry, or even yell and argue. The camera comes out (I use my photographs as painting references) and magic happens. Each experience, each moment with them means so much to me that I don't know how to express it except through painting, which is my most important reason for being. Decades of following this path through my artistic journey have made painting such a personal endeavor for me that I can't imagine doing it any other way or for any other reason.

 

Palus was born in 1972 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a middle child with two older brothers and two younger sisters. From a very young age his creative potential was recognized and encouraged by his parents. He was only two when he was first tested for artistic aptitude, which his parents both continued to nurture after they divorced when Palus was eight years old. It's easy to see how his childhood helped to shape and influence his creativity later in life. Equally at home in the woods and in the city, he doesn't seem to favor one setting for his paintings over another. We get the sense that the figures in his work feel as comfortable and at home as he does. Wherever he chooses to paint them, they simply belong. We can also see the impact of color, especially as he delved into his early memories of holiday lights and how they shape emotions in his Mood Lights series. Most importantly, we see the evidence of an appreciation for femininity, influenced by strong female role models, and his closeness with the two younger sisters he grew up with. Palus paints women, but avoids the trap of the “male gaze” in his work. His admiration and respect for his muses drive him to bring their humanity to the surface rather than simply record how they are outwardly formed.

 

Palus spent his school career at the top of his class, attending high school at a college prep school until a rebellious decision changed the direction of his life. In tenth grade, his art class was cut from his schedule because it interfered with his college prep courses, so Palus dropped out at the age of sixteen. He returned to repeat tenth grade at public school the following year and finish high school, but his focus had irrevocably changed. By his senior year he was spending six periods a day (including his lunch period) in the art department. He earned an Associates Degree in Commercial Art from the Oakbridge Academy of Arts in New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1995, but he found the experience disillusioning, especially as his education consisted of analog techniques and paste-up art at a time when the industry was rapidly moving into the digital world.

Palus decided to continue his art education on his own, studying and practicing traditional realism. One might even call this another rebellious decision, given the unpopularity of classical realism in the art world at that time, but Palus rejects that notion, “I wasn't thinking about supporting myself financially with art back then. I just wanted to create something that I could feel proud of, that made me happy. Realism was always the form of art that moved me the most, so that was the path I chose to follow. As to vague thoughts of future success, I felt that it didn't matter how or what I painted. If I learned to do it well enough people would eventually have to take notice.”

 

Palus took his time and learned at his own pace throughout his twenties and thirties, practicing his art while working various jobs to support himself, from pizza delivery to Kinko's to tending bar. It can be said that he perhaps overindulged in a general enjoyment of life. “I partied pretty hard when I was younger, probably too much – definitely too much to give my painting the time it needed to really develop.” Trying to learn the art of Realism outside of the art community was a challenge. Without the feedback and support system of other artists, and the encouragement that a learning environment can nurture, Palus lacked discipline and prolificacy.

 

In October of 1999 Palus packed up his belongings and moved to New Orleans, Louisiana at the age of twenty-six. The spirit and haunting beauty of that vibrant city fed his artistic nature but it also took its toll on his studies as he embraced the festive atmosphere of his new home in the city's French Quarter, where he still resides today. Within a couple of years he entered the service industry, first working security at a popular Bourbon Street bar and then working behind the bars himself. The long hours and late nights in the alcohol soaked profession took a further toll on his art. At one point two years slipped by without a finished painting.

 

While Palus feels regret for the time lost to his art, he doesn't consider it time wasted. “I've lived a lot of life, had so many incredible experiences, all of which helped to build the foundation of who I am today as an artist. Most importantly, I was meeting my muses, all of whom worked in the service industry at one time or another and shared the life I was living. That lifestyle draws a certain type of person, especially in New Orleans, a city that itself breeds individuality and free spirits. It's a place that calls to the outsiders, the broken people, saying, 'You can find a home here, and acceptance. Here your uniqueness will be celebrated, not shunned.”

 

As Palus built and strengthened the friendships that would become the foundation of his artistic voice, he slowly but surely spent more and more time at his easel. The party scene began to lose its luster next to the deeper fulfillment of creating art. He worked slowly, finishing four to six paintings a year, but it was work he felt proud of, with noticeable improvement from one to the next. But, as so often happens, just when he was about to take the next leap forward, tragedy struck.

 

In July of 2007, Kendall, the younger son of his closest friend and muse, was diagnosed with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, an extremely rare and deadly form of the disease. The diagnosis came just two weeks after Kendall's second birthday. Palus had an incredibly close relationship with Kendall and his older brother, Kaol, from the day they were born. All else fell aside as Palus became one of Kendall's primary caregivers. For much of the next four years, Palus spent more time at Children's Hospital than he did at home. Kendall's death in July of 2011 left Palus devastated. He spent the next few years in a haze, consumed by grief.

 

The night of Kendall's funeral, his dad and I both turned off our phones for the first time in four years. Nothing was that important anymore. There were no more emergencies, no more calls in the middle of the night; there was no reason to leave them on. That's basically a metaphor for what life became in the years after Kendall's death. I often hear or read about artists who say that their art saved them, that it was the only thing that got them through terrible hardships or losses, but it didn't happen that way for me. My passion for art abandoned me along with everything else. It just wasn't a priority. I had no more priorities. Only grief. On top of the grieving was the fact that my relationships are the foundation of the art I create and those relationships were as broken as I was. I'd lost the ability to really connect with anyone outside of the small group of us that said goodbye to Kendall in that hospital room. Then in October of 2014 Marloe was born, Kaol and Kendall's sister, and everything changed. That morning I watched Kaol hold his newborn sister with a joy in his eyes that I hadn't seen since his brother died, and the spark of joy in my own life was re-ignited. It was for Marloe and her mother that I started the Mood Lights series and began painting again in earnest. That beautiful child will never know how her light saved us, just by coming into the world. Sometimes I feel like we owe her everything.

 

In December of 2015 Palus had his first solo show at Creason's Fine Art Gallery in New Orleans, and since then he has shown in several New Orleans galleries and has had work accepted into numerous national and international exhibitions around the U.S, including shows with the International Guild of Realism, PoetsArtists Group, the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, Allied Artists of America, the New Orleans Art Association, and he was a finalist in the second edition Boynes Emerging Artist Awards in 2020. He has been featured in The Guide Artists Magazine, Cavaletto Zine, Fine Art Connoisseur, and American Art Collector Magazine. Seven of Palus' works have been selected for inclusion in The Lunar Codex Project, a time capsule of Earth's contemporary arts permanently placed on the surface of the Moon to someday be discovered by future civilizations.

 

Now that his original Mood Lights series, a six year labor, has drawn to a close, Palus is moving forward in his career on two separate paths. In recent years he has found new inspiration and has deepened the close friendships that he shares in his work through travel with his muses, gathering references for a group of future series, each focusing on a single muse in a different part of the world. The work has begun on the first of these series, Momenti d'Italia, featuring his friend, Tasha, and their travels together across Italy. At the same time Palus will continue to explore the darker, more intimate side of his work in future series based in the surreal world of colored light, beginning with Blu, a small exhibition featuring another close friend, Shannon, which took place in a single night, under a single blue light.

 

No matter the setting or style, friendship will remain the one constant of Palus' work.

 

 

Publications

 

2025

Canvas Rebel Magazine, August Issue

 

2024

Fine Art Connoisseur, Nov/Dec 2024 Issue

33PA, Fall 2024 Issue

American Art Collector, May 2024 Issue

 

2023

Cavaletto Zine, The Art of Halloween

Voyage Austin, March Issue

 

2022

The Great American Paint In, a visual history of the Pandemic told through a collection of the art it inspired.

The Guide Artists Magazine, April Issue

 

2020

The Guide Artists Magazine, September Issue

 

2018

The Guide Artists Magazine, September Issue

 

2016

Cavaletto Zine, Autumn Issue

 

Gallery Representation

D Anthony Gallery and Atelier, Wausau, 

Gallery CERO, Longwood, FL

 

Group Shows

 

2026

AAPL First Annual Juried Open Online Exhibition (Juried)

WOMAN 2026 (Invitational), James Baird Gallery, Pouch Cove, Newfoundland

REFLECTION, curated by Emre Karaoglu, New Orleans Healing Center, New Orleans, LA

WITNESS: Contemporary Figurative Artists, New Orleans (Invitational), Second Story Gallery, New Orleans, LA

Good for the Soul: an Art Exhibition curated by Emre Karaoglu, DBA Music Club, New Orleans, LA

 

2025

Good for the Soul: an Art Exhibition curated by Emre Karaoglu, DBA Music Club, New Orleans, LA

International Guild of Realism 2025 Fall Salon Online Exhibition (Juried)

So Real: a Group Show of Southern Painters of Realism, curated by Christy Wood (Invitational), LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, LA

 

2024

25th National Juried Art Show, New Orleans Art Association, New Orleans, LA

And Now for Something New, Vol. 6, LeMieux Galleries, New Orleans, LA

STILLNESS, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Miami, FL

CONVERSATION, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Miami, FL

2024 Associate Online Show, Allied Artists of America

GARDEN, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Miami, FL

FLESH, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Miami, FL

WATER, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Miami, FL

 

2023

7th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, WI

Art for Art's Sake, Sidewalk Side Studio Fine Art Gallery, New Orleans, LA

2023 International Guild of Realism Fall Salon Online Exhibition  

24th National Juried Art Show, New Orleans Art Association, New Orleans, LA

Dream a Little Dream, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, IL

Painting the Figure Now 2023, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, WI

The International Biennial Portrait Competition (finalist), Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, WI

Champagne Stroll on Magazine, Sidewalk Side Studio, New Orleans, LA

17th Annual International Guild of Realism Exhibition, Sugarman Peterson Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

 MUJER, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, IL

MO(U)RNING, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, IL

RETRO, curated by A.D. Magazu, (online exhibition), 33 Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, IL

 

2022

Art for Life Chicago, 33 Contemporary Gallery, Chicago, IL

Art for Art's Sake, Sidewalk Side Studio Fine Art Gallery, New Orleans, LA

2022 International Guild of Realism Fall Salon Online Exhibition

The Legends of the Moon (part of the Lunar Codex Project), Era Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Exhibitour 2022 (Honorable Mention), Wausau River District hosted by D Anthony Gallery, Wausau, WI

Liberating the Flesh, Zhou B Art Center, Chicago, IL

2022 Associates Online Exhibition, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society

Painting the Figure Now 2022, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, WI

Champagne Stroll on Magazine Street, Sidewalk Side Studio, New Orleans, LA

2022 Associate Online Show, Allied Artists of America

About Face Exhibition, Webster Arts Center, Webster Groves, MO

Salon des Refuses, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Wausau, WI

 

2021

2021 International Guild of Realism Spring Salon Online Exhibition

2021 Figurative Art Exhibition, Light Space and Time Gallery

2021 Associate Member Online Exhibition, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society

 2021 Open Art Exhibition, Light Space and Time Gallery

 2021 International Guild of Realism Fall Salon Online Exhibition

 

2020

2020 Best of America Exhibition, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society

2020 Associate Online Show, Allied Artists of America

5th Annual Cityscapes Exhibition, Fusion Art

The Great American Paint In, Gallery CERO

The Boynes Emerging Artist Awards, Finalist

107th Annual Salon Exhibition, Allied Artists of America

Figurative 2020 Awards, Finalist, Camelback Gallery

Shades of Red Exhibition, Finalist, Camelback Gallery

 

2019

International Guild of Realism Winter Salon Online Exhibition, March 20th - May 20th

Innocence, online exhibit, Linus Online Galleries of Southern California

Beautiful, online exhibit, Linus Online Galleries of Southern California

 

2018

Farewell Show, Brand New Orleans Art Gallery, New Orleans, LA

 

2017

Midcity has heART, TREO: Arts|Cocktails|Plates, New Orleans, LA

 

2016

National Oil and Acrylic Painters' Society Spring 2016 Online International Exhibit

 

 2012

7th Annual International Guild of Realism Exhibition, Jones and Terwilliger Gallery, Carmel, CA

 

2011

Salon de Refuses, Trouser House, New Orleans, LA

 

2010

Dirty Linen Night, Studio 831, New Orleans, LA

 

Solo Shows

 

2020

Artist Spotlight Solo Art Exhibition, Fusion Art

 

2015

Belle Femme: Exploring the Strength and Beauty of Womanhood, Creason's Fine Art Gallery, New Orleans, LA

Affiliations

Art Renewal Center

International Guild of Realism

Figurative Artists of New Orleans

The Guide Artists/Collector Masters

Good for the Soul Art Group

 

Artist Statement

My work is a life-long study of feminine strength and beauty, experienced through the bond of close friendship. My muses are beautiful, but cliché as it sounds, for me the greater inspiration comes from what lies beneath the physical beauty. The women that I paint have sublime, enthralling souls inside their shells. Strength, courage, wisdom, independence, humor, kindness, vulnerability – tempered but not destroyed by deep suffering; this is true beauty to me. These are aspects of humanity that are worth exploring and preserving, that we can look up to and admire, and be guided to find in ourselves.

I work exclusively with a small group of friends who embody these qualities and with whom I feel an deep, unfeigned connection. I do believe that beauty is everywhere, but I've always felt the need to keep my artwork very personal. It's the intimacy that I feel with these friends that sparks my inspiration. I've never actually painted a face that I haven't seen crying or laughing, looking back at me with care or amusement...sometimes anger. The friends that I work with are utterly true to who they are, which allows them to engage the world with an openness that I think often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. There is a certain sadness that hides deep beneath the laughter and smiles, but is always reaching out to those that are lucky enough to see. That's the connection. My art isn't about trying to understand myself, or the world around me; it's not really about me at all. It's about sharing the wonder I feel in the beautiful depths of another human being who is truly worth seeing.

I work in my small apartment. My bedroom is my studio. I enjoy the simplicity of what I have: my easel, paints, and brushes set up in a corner of a room with spotlights next to my bed. I work exclusively with oils in the style of realism. I keep a sketchbook for practice that I don't use nearly enough. I usually craft loose compositions in my head and work them out directly on the canvas, though for more intricate compositions I'll sometimes fill several pages with thumbnail sketches to make sure that it's right. I use photographs for references, working only from photos that I've taken myself. The photo shoots are sometimes candid moments over coffee or lunch, and sometimes they are meticulous affairs where I've planned out every detail of the location, wardrobe, makeup, lighting, etc, specifically tailored to suit a particular model. I like to work on several paintings at once, so I can bounce back and forth, constantly seeing them with fresh eyes. I do my best work in the mornings, rising from bed and immediately setting up for the day's painting before I've even poured my first cup of coffee.