Binnie's new paintings and drawings continue his investigation of the sociocultural zeitgeist and collective anxiety about the state of the nation. Over the past several years, his practice has turned to exploring white terror and its role in constructing national identity, as well as the landscape bearing witness to human activity, to which it is, ultimately, the only witness, as we find ourselves living in an increasingly diminished and toxic world. Since moving from Texas to Massachusetts–two very distinct and different regions of the country–five years ago, his work has grown progressively concerned with the myriad ways one experiences living in an increasingly diverse and divided nation sutured together by fictitious nostalgia. Skeptical of blind nationalism from a young age, while being fascinated by the very imagery that galvanizes a type of national identity, the crux of his practice lies in the use and dissemination of images as methods of constructing a collective identity.  To Binnie, a singular national framework seems, rightfully so, less and less viable as a cohesive set of visual touchstones, as previously underrepresented voices are increasingly heard and understood, while historically dominant voices are increasingly emboldened to suppress and outwardly oppress. This, coupled with the much larger threat of complete ecological and environmental collapse, has been the nexus of his work of late: human social conflict amidst impending global doom.

William Burton Binnie is a Scottish-American painter born in Dallas, TX in 1985. He received his MFA from SMU Meadow School of the Arts in 2014. He is currently a visiting professor of art at Williams College. He has had solo exhibitions at LMAKgallery, NY; Paul LoyaGallery, LA; Greg Kucera Gallery, Seattle, WA; as well as participated in group exhibitions at MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA; Wilding Crane Gallery, LA; HVW8 Gallery, LA; the Rachofsky House, Dallas; The Public Trust, Dallas; Dallas Contemporary, Dallas. He’s had a residency at the Robert Raushenberg Foundation and was co-founder of artist run space Beefhaus which laid the groundwork for art in Dallas. His work can be found in the collection of the Roanoke College – Olin Gallery, and the Bunker collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody