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During the COVID Pandemic response the R.G. Endres Gallery has been closed to live shows. During this time the Prairie Village Arts Council is pleased to feature the work of renowned local artist Randall Bennett during August and September. Mr. Bennett's work is an inspiration, drawing from nature and the images he has captured. We are proud to feature his work here.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I am drawn to paint subject matter that exhibits strong value contrasts, beautiful color associations and compound textures, whether it be landscape, figurative, architectural, still life or even abstracts. I love to capture natural “edges” in my work. The edge of a sharp boulder against a soft radiant sky is one example. Another “edge” might be in the juxtaposition of cool and warm light at the edge of night and day. I also love color. I even like to just look at color charts, paint chips or color wheel to become reinvigorated about art in general.
I am drawn to paint subject matter that exhibits strong value contrasts, beautiful color associations and compound textures, whether it be landscape, figurative, architectural, still life or even abstracts. I love to capture natural “edges” in my work. The edge of a sharp boulder against a soft radiant sky is one example. Another “edge” might be in the juxtaposition of cool and warm light at the edge of night and day. I also love color. I even like to just look at color charts, paint chips or color wheel to become reinvigorated about art in general.
Much of my realistic work is actually narrative; grounded on a foundation of my own experience. A close inspection of some of my work will reveal multiple levels of meaning. My usual practice is to make field sketches and record with a camera, then complete the piece in the studio. Some of my less realistic works show evidence of the distillation of recognizable places and characteristics of landscape form into their very basic elements using value and color along with gestural brushwork to suggest features of the subject as a further derivation of an ongoing process to create an empathetic perceptual relationship between the viewer and the memory or recognition of “place”. For these works, I like to subordinate traditional landscape form in favor of a visceral perceptual manipulation that invites the viewer to address their personal identification of “place” while looking through, perhaps, unfamiliar perceptual filters. Unlike Nature, the closer the viewer is to the “object”, the painting in question in this case, the more obscure the details become.
For my purely abstract works, I generally like to create a post-narrative assemblage of a minimalist distillation of natural disparate elements “reformatted” and manifested in abstract gestural brushstrokes, utilizing color and value as topical communication vehicles thus enhancing visual discourse. My general practice for much of my art is to immerse myself within my subject, landscapes in many cases, in order to translate and manifest my derivative perceptions into a single piece or series of artworks while at the same time leaving compositional elements loose but still, at varying levels, subjugated to the physicality of geologic, geographic, and environmental hierarchies. As a professional artist, I do not limit myself to landscapes and Nature alone, but I do find deep satisfaction in continuing the work of “creating” that is going on all about us within the natural world. I have been enjoying producing commercial art and fine art for over 45 years to date. My other related activities include designing and building museum exhibits. I have been involved in about 75 museums that contains something of my artwork or creative input including murals, dioramas, sculpture, artifact reproductions, graphics, photographs, illustrations, exhibit text writing, artifact mounts, conservation education and more. Some of my museum work may be found on my website: www.tallgrassmuseumservices.com
As of late, I have been expanding my oeuvre into the digital and cyber world of creativity and exploring my own personal creative limitations with the goal of breaking down both self and culturally imposed boundaries in order to push my creative development past traditional artistic accretionary underpinnings, thus positing my future work in a form of creative ascendency. I hope you enjoy my artwork. Thank you.
For my purely abstract works, I generally like to create a post-narrative assemblage of a minimalist distillation of natural disparate elements “reformatted” and manifested in abstract gestural brushstrokes, utilizing color and value as topical communication vehicles thus enhancing visual discourse. My general practice for much of my art is to immerse myself within my subject, landscapes in many cases, in order to translate and manifest my derivative perceptions into a single piece or series of artworks while at the same time leaving compositional elements loose but still, at varying levels, subjugated to the physicality of geologic, geographic, and environmental hierarchies. As a professional artist, I do not limit myself to landscapes and Nature alone, but I do find deep satisfaction in continuing the work of “creating” that is going on all about us within the natural world. I have been enjoying producing commercial art and fine art for over 45 years to date. My other related activities include designing and building museum exhibits. I have been involved in about 75 museums that contains something of my artwork or creative input including murals, dioramas, sculpture, artifact reproductions, graphics, photographs, illustrations, exhibit text writing, artifact mounts, conservation education and more. Some of my museum work may be found on my website: www.tallgrassmuseumservices.com
As of late, I have been expanding my oeuvre into the digital and cyber world of creativity and exploring my own personal creative limitations with the goal of breaking down both self and culturally imposed boundaries in order to push my creative development past traditional artistic accretionary underpinnings, thus positing my future work in a form of creative ascendency. I hope you enjoy my artwork. Thank you.