Millie Benson: Holding Space - Artist Statement

 

 

Holding Space, by Millie Benson

This new collection of paintings is inspired by outer space and the ways we try to see it more closely, by

imagining it, and imaging it.

These paintings are of planets, stars and moons, but are small enough to be held in your hands. I began

them in 2022, around the time of the summer solstice, intending to show them in December, around the

time of the winter solstice.

Humans have always tracked changes in the sky, the paths of the sun and the moon, and considered

what these changes meant to them. The summer is a time of light and renewal. The winter is a time of

darkness, but also a time to remember that the light will come again when days begin to get longer.

For many ancient cultures the solstices were the two times of year when the sun “stood still,” offering a

glimpse into timelessness. The sun was seen to die during the winter solstice, and fires were lit to keep

the sun alive. These paintings are like those fires, brought from summer to winter to keep alive the

promise of the sun’s return. They are little bits of light, brought forward from the summer and thrown

into the dark winter.

The works are also inspired by what we cannot see of the planets, moon, sun, and stars, and the ways in

which we imagine what it could look like. I was thinking of how NASA uses false color in outer space

image composites to help render what we can’t see with our unaided eyes. I used rich, bright, warm

colors I found in fiery sunsets.

In some cultures, it was a tradition at the winter solstice to hang objects on trees which symbolized

celestial bodies. This tradition evolved into gift-giving. In the same way, these works are small enough to

be given as gifts.