Artist Bio

            Eli Portman was born and raised in the Greater Boston area. He graduated from the State University of New York at Binghamton with a Bachelors Degree in studio art in the spring of 2014.
​Portman has created murals and custom artwork for Starbucks, Walmart, General Electric, Salem State University, the Punto Urban Art Museum, the Downtown Boston BID and the City of Boston, and displayed his work in the Fountain Street Gallery, the Selfless Art Gallery, The Torosiete Gallery, the Umass Boston Harbor Arts Gallery, the Spring Bull Gallery, and more. He is a member of the Copley Society of Art, and regularly has his illustrations published in various media. In 2019 he was an Artist Fellow at the Boston Athenaeum. In 2024 he worked with the Boston “Auschwitz Exhibit”, a traveling holocaust museum, to create the largest watercolor painting in the world.

Artist's Statement

            I am fascinated with the concept of perception. Many experiences in my life have made me feel quite alone. In those moments, I feel unique in the way that I perceive things. And yet at the same time, I strongly believe that we as human beings share many experiences, many thoughts, feelings, and reactions.

With my work, I approach the dissonance between perceived unique individual solitude in a crowded environment, and the commonness and sameness of such feelings.

            Using detailed line work and heavy colors, I illustrate moments of 'unique' isolation that we all share. The feeling of walking alone while viewing social excitement through nighttime windows, or working while others play to their contentment.

            With controlled ink lines, I capture shadows and lights. Familiar angles, familiar feelings brought on by time of day or night, placement and presence in one’s environment. I manipulate the openness and tightness of visual spaces and interiors to reflect the claustrophobia of society's open space and the endless emptiness of being crowded and crushed.

            With strong colors, I attract the viewer’s eyes to specific spaces within the composition, reminding them of their own perceptions of environment, and that I, like them, find myself in there too. By capturing these scenes, I present the commonality between them and me. Though they do not know me, we are united by the sameness of the humanity we all share.

            The art exhibitions that affect me most strongly are the ones that remind me of myself. Of what I love, of what I find beautiful, and of what I fear. We are always looking for a certain degree of reflections of ourselves. In images, in friends, in pets, in communities, in romantic partners. With my artwork, I attempt to bridge the gaps of solitude by harnessing that innate search for our reflections. With familiar scenes, bright colors, and fine details of everyday objects and structures, I create scenes that are familiar in their individuality.

36 Upland Rd, Sharon MA 02067

857-364-1496    Website: www.eliportman.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eli.portman/

                                     Eli Portman     Resume 2025

Education:

2014            BA in Studio Art, Concentration in Drawing, Binghamton University, Binghamton, NY.                  

Solo Exhibitions:

2014           Ink Stains, Brookline Library, Main branch, Brookline, MA

2015          Wandering Descent, Tufts Health Plan, Watertown, MA

2016          Wayward Son, Lab Central, Cambridge, MA

2017          Ink Forgotten, Northeastern Crossing, Roxbury Crossing, MA

2017          Budding Growth from Cracks in Pavement, Newton Library, Newton MA

2017          Eyes Above Ground, Harbor Gallery, UMass Boston, Dorchester MA

2018          Eli Portman, Featured Artist, VisionSpace Gallery, Lynn MA

2020          City Lines and Natural Colors, Honan Allston Branch, Boston Public Library, Allston, MA

2022          A City In 7 Years, Jamaica Plain Library, Boston, MA

2022          Shuttle Buses Available: A City Series, Emerging Gallery, Boston City Hall, Boston, MA

2023        November Artist,  Parish Center for the Arts, Westford, MA

Duo Exhibitions:

2017            Junction, Duo Show with Sculptor Konstantin Simun Harvard Ed Portal, Allston, MA

2024          Roam,   Duo Show with Margarita Krylova, Fenway Gallery, Boston MA

2024          Structural Integrity, Duo Show with Adam O'Day, Machines with Magnets, Pawtucket, RI

Group Exhibitions:

2013             Out Of Reach, Jungle Science Gallery, Binghamton, NY

2014            Light, Form and Shadow, Spool Mfg. Gallery, Johnson City, NY
2014             Newton Art Association Wedeman Show, Wedeman Gallery, Lasell College, Newton, MA

2014            Newton Art Association James King Bonnar Show, New Art Center, Newton, MA

2015            Brookline Open Studios Preview Show, Brookline Main Library, Brookline, MA

2015            Galatea Fine Art Gallery NE Collective VI, South End, Boston, MA

2015            Raw Boston Expo, Malden, MA

2016            Noir, Uforge Gallery, Jamaica Plain, MA

2016            Winter Display. Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA

2017, 2018,2019 Fay Chandler Emerging Art Exhibition, Boston City Hill, Boston, MA

2019            Annual Show and Artist's Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA

2019-2025   Series of Copley Society of Art's Group Exhibitions, Back Bay, Boston, MA

2023            June Annex Artist Exhibition, Fountain Street Gallery, SOWA, Boston MA

2023            Used, Attleboro Arts Museum, Attleboro, MA

2024, 2025  Mass Art Auction, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA

Corporate Art Commissions:

2015             Window and Ceiling Mural, Farmer Horse Coffee, Boston, MA

2016             3 wall Chalk Mural, General Electric Boston Headquarters, Fort Point, Boston, MA

2016             Expo Marker Mural, General Electric Opioid Summit, Fort Point, Boston, MA

2016-2023   Series of Public 'Paint Boxes', Electrical Box Murals, Sponsored by the City of Boston

2018, 2019   8X8 Public Mural, Punto Urban Art Museum, Salem, MA

2020             50 Foot Wall Mural at Salem State University, 'We Belong Here' Campaign

2020             Wall Mural for Children's Room, Congregation Kadimah Toras Moshe

2021             Custom 9ft by 4ft Watercolor and Pen Drawing, Starbucks, Canal Street, Salem, MA

2024             World's Largest Watercolor Painting,“Auschwitz” Exhibit, Boston, MA

Fellowships

2019             Artist/ Community Fellow, Boston Athenaeum, Beacon Hill, Boston MA

Lectures/ Workshops:

2014-2021     Ongoing Series of Art Workshops at Local Libraries of: Weymouth, Lexington, Newton,                                         Brookline, BPL Copley Square, as well as the Northeastern University,The Copley                                              Society of Art, Jenks Center in Winchester, Brio Integrated Theater.

2019             Art Activity with the residents of Chinatown, working with the Greenway Conservancy,                                           Chin Park,  Chinatown, Boston

Teaching Experience:

2018-2024   Studio Art Instructor: Museum of Fine Arts Boston,

                    Brookline Adult & Community Education, Boston Center for Adult     

                    Education, Arlington Community Education, Milton Art Center,

                    Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts

Books:

2015             Illustrations, Picture Book, A Winning Ticket On Queens Boulevard by Janet Linder

2017             The Bright-Eyed Adventurer Wanders Among the Lights in the Dark, A Collection of Eli      

                     Portman's Artwork, Published by Torosiete Press

2019-2022          Illustrations for “A Curious Student's Guide” Series by Reuven Travis

2019             Cover Art for Cantabrigian Magazine Issue 3

2023             Cover  Art for Jewish Futures, Anthology Book, Michael Burstein

2024             Selected Views of Boston, Art Book , Eli Portman

Memberships:

2014             Newton Art Association

2016, 2019-2025  Copley Society of Art

2019             Cape Cod Art Center

Online Articles/Print Media:       

World's Largest Watercolor, Featured on channel 5 news and channel 7 news

Lillian Brown, Boston Globe Correspondent “My Instagram: Eli Portman” (Local Artist Feature) Boston Globe, May 4th 2019     

Keith Tomlin, “Featured Artist (with 18 page interview and artwork display)” Torosiete Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1, Mach 2017       

Hammond, Adriana. Brookline Hub, December 9th 2014,

Fisher, Jenna.  "5 New Brookline Artists To Watch" Brookline Wicked Local, April 29th 2015

Blog Contributor "Featured  Artist: Eli Portman" Boston Artists Blog. September 2015

Nicora, Katie. “The Loudest of Places” Emerson College Community Beat September 24th 2015