Gary Benfield

Background

Gary Benfield was born in Birmingham in 1965. Gary Benfield studied at Stourbridge College of Art and later Wrexham College of Art. He became a professional freelance illustrator in 1986 and joined the Artist Partner Group.

After leaving the academic world Gary Benfield set up his own studio near London and concentrated on drawing figures. Within a few years, his work was collected throughout Europe and his reputation firmly established.

Inspiration and Works

Gary Benfield has a natural talent for depicting things as seen. His work is spontaneous and is reflected by his drawn lines and dashes of colour. The figures dissolve in and out of their backgrounds and move across the paper. He paints rapidly and discards most of his paintings and drawings, keeping only those he feels are perfected in their conception rather than overwork those that he feels are not correct.

Gary Benfield pictures represent a discrete world of objects which combine figures, mythology, nature, still life and despite the casual appearance of his compositions, all this imagery is highly organised, after long observation one finds the hidden symmetry of the graphic design.

For Gary Benfield, the world around him is a continuous sequence of contained casuality. Objects and figures intertwine in his mind, they dance, they fuse, the one adopts the colour and life of the other. We are drawn into an intimate world of his imagery, where sensuality and delight in life’s form are combined in a flight of frolic and fantasy.