Benjamin Aho

My work examines religious and philosophical theories about life and existence. I explore questions such as: what is the reason for our existence, what does it mean to say that we are created in the image of God, and what is the nature of our relationship with God? Whether one believes in a deity or the absence of one, most people have, at one time or another asked the question, what is the meaning of life? This question is fundamental to human existence and I intend to return to it in my work.
Process has become a very important part of my work. I have noticed the same emphasis on process in some forms of religious art. This is particularly the case with iconography in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Every element in the creation of icons has meaning. Most artists start by painting with the darkest colors and then build on top of that with lighter and lighter paint. This is meant to symbolize Christ pulling us out of darkness when one becomes a Christian. Embedding meaning in the stages of process is intriguing to me and is present within much of my work. The Orthodox view of iconography has been a source of inspiration for my art and it has given me a view on process that others might not have experienced.
Icons have also infl...

The School of the Museum of Fine Arts 2014
Tufts University 2014