Jason Benjamin - There is a place
Oct 05 - Oct 30
A PAINTER FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
Jason Benjamin's paintings possess an
honesty and depth rarely seen in works of similar subject matter - so
much so that the subject matter almost becomes secondary to the emotive
forces of what lies within. The works emanate a seductive quality that
takes us beyond the canvas, and draws us deep into another world.
Benjamin's process of creating a piece is like embarking on a journey with no fixed destination until arrival - one must seek out the route and experience the adventures and challenges along the way before finding the right path; or searching for an answer to a question than may have unlimited possibilities in order to discover the truth or solve a problem. Only when Benjamin has reached the final destination or discovered the correct answer to the question, is the painting completed. This journey is usually a personal one - one of self exploration and discovery, yet the destination is familiar. The question is usually asked of himself, yet the answer is applicable to all. It is this intellectual process in the creation of the works that gives them a universal quality - a deeper interpretation of what drives us - to deal with our own human personal scars and emotions.
Benjamin is quick to dismiss any classification of his work within the limited Australian aesthetic and art market, despite his Australian nationality. He has always traveled and lives abroad sporadically, and has studied at New York's Pratt Institute. For Benjamin, influence comes naturally from open dialogues with diverse cultures and past eras, commencing with the Renaissance, Caravaggio, the Baroque, through to Caspar David Friedrich, the Romantics, Matisse, and the American painters of the 1950s - artists and art movements that defied fashion and pushed the boundaries of the imposed art culture of their time. Benjamin's quest for a universal language in his work coincides with a renewed interest in "humanism" within the world of contemporary art: pure, emotional beauty.
He is an artist 'on the cusp', at a specific point in time but not in a specific location, painting from an internal landscape within a post-postmodern society where advertising poses as art and art all too often feels like advertising. Benjamin is working in exile (a self imposed exile) that fosters the contrasting mix of desire and asceticism that underpins his paintings, in total isolation from the rest of the artistic community around him, its current trends and expectations. Yet at thirty four, he is one of Australia's most coveted artists. Benjamin is Australia's highest priced artist under the age of fifty. His paintings appear regularly at Sotheby's and Christies auctions in Australia, fetching up to AUD$80,000. In the last five years every solo exhibition (maximum two per year) has been a total sell-out.
