Ben Sanders
Bonsai

August 8 to September 13, 2020

Ampersand is pleased to present Bonsai, an exhibition of 200 drawings and a corresponding book by Ben Sanders. Just as the art of Bonsai itself can be considered a practice that mimics nature, Ben's simple drawings bring to life colorful tree forms that exist somewhere between absence and imagination. “Some are based on trees I’ve seen,” he says, “but most are completely made up at the moment. The drawings started like all of my bodies of work, haphazardly following a flight of fancy. I made a few as a novelty and really liked how they looked. As I made more, they became a great way to visualize Bonsai forms.” Restraining himself to basic tools—a few markers and pilfered gallery letterhead—the act of bonsai drawing follows a form of daily ritual, something he does while his young daughter naps in the afternoon. It’s also a time of day he often spends tending his own collection of Bonsai trees, a passion that grew out of his love for gardening and was further influenced by the teaching of Bonsai Mirai, located here in the Northwest not far from Portland. But Bonsai, he acknowledges, is a slow, lifelong pursuit and there‘s only so much work to be done on the few trees he cultivates in the limited space of an apartment balcony in Pasadena. It’s a momentary constraint fixed between a past when he grew a spacious vegetable garden and a desired future with his own plot of land where he can grow anything and everything he wants. In the meantime, he satiates his green thumb with marker and imagination. You can never have enough plants, he says. The bonsai drawings are a perfect substitute.

Ben’s new book, also titled Bonsai and published by our gallery imprint, features all 200 drawings and an introductory text by Erik Benjamins. Limited to 250 copies, it’s priced $45 and can be purchased here.


Ben Sanders lives and works in Los Angeles. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States and internationally, as well as commissioned by clients, big and small, throughout the world, including Nike, Dropbox, Louis Vuitton and The New York Times. Recent exhibitions include Items at Left Field in Los Osos, CA and I come to the Garden Alone at Ochi Projects in Los Angeles. This is his first exhibition at Ampersand.

 

Bonsai (014), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Framed


Bonsai (198), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Framed

 

Bonsai (186), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Unframed

 

Bonsai (038), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Framed

 

Bonsai (039), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Framed

 

Bonsai (133), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Unframed

 

Bonsai (183), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (050), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (007), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Unframed

 

Bonsai (153), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (170), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (032), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Unframed

 

Bonsai (053), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (140), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (076), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Unframed

 

Bonsai (089), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (090), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (112), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (165), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (070), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (043), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (178), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (164), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
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Bonsai (022), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Unframed

 

Bonsai (029), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Framed

 

Bonsai (077), 2019
Marker on paper
11 x 8 1/2 inches
Framed

 

© 2020 Ben Sanders and Ampersand. All Rights Reserved.