About the Artist:
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 2014.
While teaching painting at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, he has also 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. He has presented many works in galleries, universities, and venues throughout the Boston area and is a member of the Copley Society of Art. Portman helped create the largest watercolor painting on record with a traveling Holocaust history exhibit in 2024, and was featured on the GBH Community Canvas in 2025.
While teaching painting at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts, he has also 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. He has presented many works in galleries, universities, and venues throughout the Boston area and is a member of the Copley Society of Art. Portman helped create the largest watercolor painting on record with a traveling Holocaust history exhibit in 2024, and was featured on the GBH Community Canvas in 2025.
Statement:
I am fascinated with the urban environment. The modern city features opulence, grime, and everything in between that mirrors our society. We build castles around us. They grow with us, and as we falter, they crumble. As our society expands, our buildings grow with extensions and added floors. Shopkeepers power wash sidewalks to hide the stains. Murals hide cracks on walls.
In my series of works, I examine the structures that characterize the people living in and around them. I believe urban environments and how they are treated reflect a certain healthiness or lack thereof. In these places, posters go up in windows when we protest and spray paint goes in alleyways when we rebel. People begin to sleep in doorways as the neighborhood struggles and store fronts close in faded light as we move away.
Resume:
| art_resume_eli_portman__november_2025.doc |
Notable Shows and projects:
Art Educator
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts
Harvard Club of Boston
Fenway Community Center
Solo Exhibitions
2025
The City and The Sand
Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Brewster, MA
2023
Untitled
Newton Free Library, Newton, MA
2022
Shuttle Buses Available: A City Series, Emerging Gallery, Boston City Hall
A City in 7 Years, Jamaica Plain Public Library, Jamaica Plain, MA
2020
City Lines and Natural Colors, Honan Allston Branch, Boston Public Library, Allston, MA
2018
Featured Artist
VisionSpace Gallery, Lynn MA
2017
Budding Growth from Cracks in Pavement
Newton Library, Newton MA
Eyes Above Ground
Harbor Gallery, UMass Boston, Dorchester MA
Ink Forgotten
North Eastern Crossing, Roxbury Crossing, MA
2016
Wayward Son
Lab Central, Cambridge, MA
2015
Faltering Wonder
Coldwell Banker, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA
Wandering Descent
Tufts Health Plan, Watertown, MA
2014
Ink Stains
Brookline Library, Main branch, Brookline, MA
Duo Exhibitions:
2024
Structural Integrity with Adam O'Day
Machines with Magnets, Pawtucket RI
Roam with Margarita Krylova
Fenway Gallery, Boston MA
Group Exhibitions:
2025
MFA Staff Art Show
Copley Society of Art, Back Bay, Boston MA
Fall Display, West Window Gallery, Quincy MA
The Color and Shape of Sound, Imago Gallery, Warren, RI
August Breeze, Van Der Plas Gallery, East Village, NYC, NY
2024
The Multifaceted Journey towards Inner Balance and Peace
Selfless Gallery, Tribeca, New York City, NY
Massachusetts
Curation 250 Gallery, Lowell, MA
2023
Annex Show,
Fountain Street Gallery Annex, Sowa, Boston, MA
2019-2023
Series of Copley Society of Art's Group Exhibitions, Back Bay, Boston, MA
2019
Annual Group Show and Art Auction,
Massachusetts College of Art and Design,
Boston, MA
2017,2018,2022
Fay Chandler Emerging Art Exhibition
Boston City Hill, Boston, MA
2017
Junction
Harvard Ed Portal, Allston, MA
2016
Noir
Uforge Gallery, Jamaica Plain, MA
Winter Display
Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA
2015
Galatea Fine Art Gallery NE Collective VI
South end, Boston, MA
Raw Boston Expo
Malden, MA
2014
Newton Art Association Wedeman Show
Wedeman Gallery, Lasell College, Newton, MA
Newton Art Association James King Bonnar Show
New Art Center, Newton, MA
Light, Form and Shadow
Spool Mfg. Gallery, Johnson City, NY
2013
Out Of Reach
Jungle Science Gallery, Binghamton, NY
Press:
Community Canvas
WGBH
January 2025
Record-breaking painting showcases humanity of Boston’s Auschwitz exhibitGavi Klein
Jewish Journal
August 2024
"Cape Cod Museum to host Eli Portman’s ‘The City & The Sand’ show"
Wicked Local.com
August 2025
"My Instagram: Eli Portman. Local Artist Feature"
Lillian Brown, Globe Correspondent
Boston Globe, May 4th 2019
Museum of Fine Arts Boston
Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts
Harvard Club of Boston
Fenway Community Center
Solo Exhibitions
2025
The City and The Sand
Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Brewster, MA
2023
Untitled
Newton Free Library, Newton, MA
2022
Shuttle Buses Available: A City Series, Emerging Gallery, Boston City Hall
A City in 7 Years, Jamaica Plain Public Library, Jamaica Plain, MA
2020
City Lines and Natural Colors, Honan Allston Branch, Boston Public Library, Allston, MA
2018
Featured Artist
VisionSpace Gallery, Lynn MA
2017
Budding Growth from Cracks in Pavement
Newton Library, Newton MA
Eyes Above Ground
Harbor Gallery, UMass Boston, Dorchester MA
Ink Forgotten
North Eastern Crossing, Roxbury Crossing, MA
2016
Wayward Son
Lab Central, Cambridge, MA
2015
Faltering Wonder
Coldwell Banker, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA
Wandering Descent
Tufts Health Plan, Watertown, MA
2014
Ink Stains
Brookline Library, Main branch, Brookline, MA
Duo Exhibitions:
2024
Structural Integrity with Adam O'Day
Machines with Magnets, Pawtucket RI
Roam with Margarita Krylova
Fenway Gallery, Boston MA
Group Exhibitions:
2025
MFA Staff Art Show
Copley Society of Art, Back Bay, Boston MA
Fall Display, West Window Gallery, Quincy MA
The Color and Shape of Sound, Imago Gallery, Warren, RI
August Breeze, Van Der Plas Gallery, East Village, NYC, NY
2024
The Multifaceted Journey towards Inner Balance and Peace
Selfless Gallery, Tribeca, New York City, NY
Massachusetts
Curation 250 Gallery, Lowell, MA
2023
Annex Show,
Fountain Street Gallery Annex, Sowa, Boston, MA
2019-2023
Series of Copley Society of Art's Group Exhibitions, Back Bay, Boston, MA
2019
Annual Group Show and Art Auction,
Massachusetts College of Art and Design,
Boston, MA
2017,2018,2022
Fay Chandler Emerging Art Exhibition
Boston City Hill, Boston, MA
2017
Junction
Harvard Ed Portal, Allston, MA
2016
Noir
Uforge Gallery, Jamaica Plain, MA
Winter Display
Brookline Booksmith, Brookline, MA
2015
Galatea Fine Art Gallery NE Collective VI
South end, Boston, MA
Raw Boston Expo
Malden, MA
2014
Newton Art Association Wedeman Show
Wedeman Gallery, Lasell College, Newton, MA
Newton Art Association James King Bonnar Show
New Art Center, Newton, MA
Light, Form and Shadow
Spool Mfg. Gallery, Johnson City, NY
2013
Out Of Reach
Jungle Science Gallery, Binghamton, NY
Press:
Community Canvas
WGBH
January 2025
Record-breaking painting showcases humanity of Boston’s Auschwitz exhibitGavi Klein
Jewish Journal
August 2024
"Cape Cod Museum to host Eli Portman’s ‘The City & The Sand’ show"
Wicked Local.com
August 2025
"My Instagram: Eli Portman. Local Artist Feature"
Lillian Brown, Globe Correspondent
Boston Globe, May 4th 2019