Ben Hengst

I grew up in the theater I tend to think of the canvas as a stage upon which I place my actors and create a narrative. I am especially fond of such theatrical devices as the “aside” and find great amusement in the idea that a painting can break the fourth wall. There is always an element of playfulness that runs throughout my work. I’ve learned from my experience it’s important not to take the world too seriously. My subject varies; usually drawing from a personal narrative but I always have a desire to reconcile historical figurative painting ideas with contemporary sensibilities in my work. It follows that I am in great debt to the history of narrative/figurative painting, especially early Italian Renaissance and the Baroque periods. It is from those periods that I draw my technical inspiration. My work by and large is a conglomeration of historical painting methods and contemporary narrative.

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