BEN FERRY: EASTWARD AND ONWARD
Oil Paintings, Watercolors, and Drawings
April 15th through May 26th, 2023
Ferals Hunting, 2022, watercolor on 140LB Hot Press, framed size: 21 ¾ x 36 inches
Ben Ferry is an artist known to have his finger on the pulse of Washington D.C.’s history and culture. In our exhibition, Eastward and Onward, Ferry has chosen to capture a landmark that will soon be lost to history – the Freeway Airport. Established in 1961, formally a tobacco farm, Freeway Airport has stood as a symbol of the exodus out of Washington D.C. to the Eastern Shore and beaches beyond. Discussing the airport, Ferry remarked, “Everyone drives the same road to the Bay Bridge. Some of my fondest memories in life began with the journey passing this airport on the way to the shore. When I saw the airfield, it always marked the beginning of the journey.”
To Ferry, the Freeway Airport is a piece of Americana. Using a variety of media, including pencil, watercolor and oils, Ferry captures the essence of the airfield. Ferry’s subjects of American flags, hangars, abandoned airplanes, feral cats, and grizzled mechanics all serve as examples of his keen ability to record the everyday. In the grand tradition of Andrew Wyeth and Edward Hopper, Ferry is immortalizing the airfield through this series. Ferry’s works will endure long after the airfield is gone, and preserve the airfield for both the aviation community and lovers of American Realist painting.
Ben Ferry is a D.C. native and fine art educator at Holton-Arms School. Ferry obtained undergraduate and master’s degrees from The George Washington University and has been exhibited widely for over twenty years. He sees his work as Americana – as a way of capturing people who go quietly about their lives, but significantly influence those around them. Ferry says “I choose to depict small moments in time that represent a bigger picture if the viewer is willing to look through a different lens.” For Ferry, Eastward and Onward is about more than just an airfield, it is about reflecting a moment in time.
For further information please contact Chris Neptune at chris@neptunefineart.com or (202) 986-1200
The Old Tobacco Barn, 2022, ink wash on mixed media board, framed size: 20 x 25 ½ inches
