A Stranger In A Strange Land will be Ben Crawford's fifth solo exhibition at Boom Gallery.
 

Ben began showing with us in 2018 and since then has established himself as one of the gallery's most successful and sought after artists. His work sits in many private collections in Australia but also generates much interest internationally.
 

Ben's paintings convey a sense of wonder of the landscape and the centrality of the human presence within this environment.
 

A Stranger In A Strange Land is one of our major shows of 2025 and will be shown across both of the gallery spaces. The exhibition is a broad and dynamic mix of paintings and works on paper demonstrating the artist's ever evolving practice.
 

ARTIST STATEMENT
 

“I often get asked ‘where do you get your inspiration from?’

For me the answer is easy: as a visual artist I’m constantly looking at the world around me. There isn’t a time when I’m not thinking of how shapes, colours and patterns I’ve seen could inform a composition, or how stories I’ve heard could influence the narrative of a piece. The landscape around me percolates into my consciousness. It

shifts and reveals itself in mysterious ways throughout the day, from the faint glow of predawn light to the blurred boundaries of twilight and dusk.

And yet, as familiar as these elements are to me, I’m in a constant state of incredulity at the world around me. This isn’t just because I’m an immigrant to this land, learning it’s nuances and complexities, but it’s a feeling I think I’ve had all my life. For numerous reasons, I have looked at the world as an outsider. Not that I’m detached from living. Quite the opposite in fact; the wonder and magic in life intrigues me and fuels my imagination.

This new body of work is grounded in familiar landscapes- the creek and hills of the valley where I live. However they are not strictly landscape paintings. I like to call them ‘chimerical histories’- paintings that are made up of many parts, both narratively and visually, that have been jumbling around my mind. The result is a landscape that is both recognisable and strange to me.

For instance, in several of these works I have depicted aviaries- a reference to an abandoned bird sanctuary that once operated near my home. When it closed down the owners are said to have released the resident peacocks into the wild, resulting in a large flock of these birds living in the area to this day. This kind of story is full of so many magical elements that I find particularly rich to mine for paintings.

But I also love the quieter, simpler moments I witness- my children playing by the banks of the creek for example- that are as equally wondrous to me. What all these paintings have in common is that they are rooted in my memory and imagination- a strange land indeed.”

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.