James Benjamin Franklin's 'Visitor' at Laney Contemporary invites the viewer to behold

Five years ago, Savannah gallerist and curator Susan Laney attended Independent New York, a gathering of international contemporary and modern art galleries in New York City. As she wandered through the spaces, Laney grew captivated by the colorful, large- and mid-scale works of James Benjamin Franklin on display with the Reyes | Finn Gallery out of Detroit, Mich,

Then, when Laney was tasked with acquiring pieces for Google Ventures’ (GV) corporate spaces in San Francisco’s Ferry Building and New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, she pitched Franklin’s dynamic pieces that reimagine what constitutes a canvas. She eventually purchased one of his sculptural paintings for Laney Contemporary’s permanent collection. 

Last December, she chose Franklin and one of her own artists, Jiha Moon, for her third curated booth at UNTITLED Art Fair during Art Basel Miami Beach, in a vivid, dimensional East-meets-West collaboration. 

And now, in a departure from shows that shine a spotlight on contemporary artists from the Southeast and Savannah, Laney Contemporary has staged Visitor, an exhibit of 16 new mixed media works by Franklin at her Brutalist westside gallery, 1810 Mills B Lane Blvd. By bringing in Franklin, who grew up on the West Coast and now lives and works in Detroit, Laney said she hopes to simultaneously introduce Savannahians to an exciting artist pushing the boundaries and definitions of painting today and bringing attention back to the region’s diverse community of artists. 

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