Brighton Art Houses 4: Dan Bennett

Posted:15 May 2010

Dan Bennett, painter and print-maker, is showing at Studio 106, an artists collective based in a converted warehouse in the Poets Corner district of Hove.

Reflecting his love of gardens, Dan’s work beautifully expresses the colour, textures and form of groups and individual plants. This, combined with his respect for the pattern making of the Aborigine and of other indigenous global cultures, gives his work a unique and unexpected quality. www.dan-bennett.co.uk

Abstracted plant forms that sway and move before the eyes, vibrant colour that literally bursts from the canvas – we love the intensity of his work.

At this year’s Open Houses Dan will also be exhibiting his rock paintings for the first time:  “My art practice is currently undergoing a transition. Although I am still deeply inspired by the prehistoric symbols that can be found etched onto rocks by our global ancestors, I have recently become as interested in the rock itself. This interest expresses itself as a desire to climb and paint these ancient structures so as to better understand them. I have found that by physically moving across their surfaces I have gained a deeper intuitive knowledge about the world in general, in a similar way in which painting helps me understand the world. The mechanics of forces, levers, tension and friction which are involved in rock climbing have led to moments of inspiration which I am currently pursuing in my painting.”

Theres still time to catch Dans exhibition Sunday 16 and the following weekend 22/23 May. Open from 11am to 5pm,  Studio 106 is located at 106 Coleridge Street, Hove, BN3 5AA. www.studio106.co.uk