Ben Crawford
ARTIST STATEMENT
Storytelling is central to Ben Crawford’s practice, with characters and moments from his life often forming the genesis of his paintings.
Although there is a strong autobiographical nature to his work, Ben’s paintings have the feel of a dream or memory that has flickered into his mind, colours heightened and details slightly obscured; a feeling that is both familiar and surreal.
Seeking a sense of universality in his work, Ben uses a mixture of personal photography and found images to create collages that form the springboard for the finished paintings.
From here, he allows the abstract nature of the paint to influence the direction the painting will take, enjoying the way in which the composition, palette and subsequent layers are guided and influenced by the spontaneous marks and colours below.
This process, of allowing the abstract to shape the figurative, reflect the artist’s relationship with nature and acknowledgment of the extent to which his own experiences of life are shaped by the landscape around him.
BIO
Ben Crawford was born in Cork in the south of Ireland in 1983.
Growing up, Ben was fortunate to always have a big garden to play in and later on, a wild coastal landscape to explore. He has no doubt that this exposure at an early stage to the landscape has had an influence on his enduring interest in exploring it in his art practice.
He also credits his love of storytelling and appreciation for colour and pattern to his parents, who provided a nurturing environment where art, music, food and reading was part of everyday life.
After finishing his degree in fine art in 2007, Ben exhibited with a few Irish galleries, including his first solo show in Cork city in 2008.
But it wasn’t until he came to live with his wife’s family in Australia in 2011, that Ben started to pursue art as a feasible career. Initially working from a tiny old food trailer, Ben has slowly developed his painting practice over the past thirteen years, eventually building the studio he currently works from out of an old shipping container.
Since graduating from art college, Ben has exhibited widely in Ireland, the UK and in Australia, and has had work selected for various art prizes.
Past Exhibitions
Artworks
