Benjamin Latham (b. 1994) is a self-taught painter based between Portland, Oregon and Scottsdale, Arizona.

Rooted in the American South, his work draws from the mystique of desert landscapes, honky-tonk lore, and the evolving cultural identity of the Southwest. Influenced by everything from Laurel Canyon’s free spirit to the grit of West Texas dive bars, Benjamin paints scenes that feel both timeless and timely, equal parts cosmic and grounded.

His work is being exhibited in Santa Monica, New York, and Colorado.

Artist Statement

I’m a self-taught artist drawn to the stories, symbols, and rhythms of the contemporary South and Southwest. My paintings often begin as dusty roads, desert skies, roadside altars, and evolve into layered, textured works that live between realism and mysticism.

I’m especially fond of West Texas, the high desert, and the rural stretches where the land is harsh and the living is earned. There’s a particular kind of grit, humor, and resolve in the people who choose those remote edges of the map, and their presence hangs in the atmosphere of the work.

I’m influenced by country music, folklore, and the quiet tension of landscapes that have witnessed centuries of change. I use oil, oil stick, and pastels to build scenes that hum with energy and wear the dust and weariness of the land they emerge from. I’m interested in how beauty and strangeness coexist, and how painting can hold space for both.