Artist Biography – Eli Portman was born and raised in the Greater Boston area. He graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton with a Bachelors Degree in Studio Art in the spring of 2014. While primarily focusing on pen and ink drawing over the last few years, Portman has also done some mural work.
He currently lives in Boston and displays his work in galleries, offices, and other venues, while also teaching art to children and adults.
His personal website is eliportman.com His Instagram account is eli.portman
Artist Statement – History and memory. Two things tightly intertwined. Nobody knows the history of a place or object better than those who can remember it. To me, the places I pass by every day; they drip of memory. Ooze it from every pore. Many hands have touched its sides, many feet have tread its corridors. Someone dented it once, accidentally and permanently. Another person used it too much, wore it in, scuffed it down.
With my drawings I try to capture not a place’s realistic image, but it’s memory. We remember things differently than we see them. In our minds eye the light changes, the colors become more idyllic. The peaks rise higher and the depths grow deeper. When you look at my work, think about the places around you, the ones you walk by everyday without a second thought. Think about how one day when you are long gone, years and miles away, these places will be only memory. Powerful, eternal memory.
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