Abstract /ˈabˌstrak(t)/ (adj) existing in thought or as an
idea but not having a physical or concrete existence
A magazine photo can’t do a Drew Beson painting justice. When you inch up close to one of his pieces, which are usually several feet long and wide enough to command your peripheral, you realize why the Minneapolis-born painter focused on abstract art.
To look at one of Drew’s paintings is to see everything and nothing, folded together again and again till they become as steel or taffy. Your mind, so accustomed to making sense of your surroundings as it is, steps in to thrust order into chaos. Goldfish. Gazelles. Glacial chasms. Nebulous conch shells. Theseus fighting the minotaur – or the face of a three-toed sloth. You might think you see these things in the swirls, speckles, ebbs and diffusions of paint. But they are not there.
Drew paints abstract because his subject is thought itself: never waking in one place; always taking a new face; impossible to define, yet capturable in flowing stillness.
And it looks quite nice hanging on the living room wall: acrylic on panel, often with a finishing layer of crystal clear resin that catches light like the glaze on a fruit tart.
“Recently I’ve been thinking about how bizarre it is that we all go to sleep each night, have what are essentially hallucinations, and then go about life like none of it happened,” said Drew. “We treat photography like it’s the universal tool for capturing reality. And reality is a very big thing – but it is not everything. Light can’t touch the fantasies whirling through the subconscious. Only a painter’s touch gives them form.”
Within a decade of becoming a professional artist, Drew has had paintings showcased in exhibitions and galleries around the country. Much of his work adorns the walls of private collectors, who commissioned Drew’s talents or selected already breathing art.
“About half of my work is commissions,” said Drew. “Many of my clients invite me to their home or office where I can appreciate the space in person. I’m able to be flexible and creative within reasonable confines, and I don’t emerge from my cocoon of solitude without a piece I’d be excited to share and show. There are no intermediaries or bureaucracy – only the trust between patron and artist that has stood firm since the Renaissance."
Drew’s 6,500-square-foot studio and gallery are located at 10050 Crosstown Circle in Eden Prairie. You may see his available paintings and read more about a life that couldn’t be contained by so few magazine pages at besonart.com. If you would like to schedule a private showing, Drew welcomes your call at (612) 787-2149.