Benjamin Butler creates paintings that combine various modes of abstraction and figuration, and which are characterized by simplified forms, solid colors, broad brushstrokes, and motifs of mountains and trees. Since 2001, his works have become increasingly abstract, focusing on rhythmic and geometric forms reminiscent of Frank Stella and Robert Ryman. Butler’s paintings intertwine the strategies of Minimalism with painterly romanticism, offering a conversation between and about both. Though trees are the most frequently recurring motif in his works, Butler believes that his true subject is the act of painting. “Sometimes I wonder how many trees I’d have to paint for people to realize that the paintings aren’t really about trees at all,” he says.