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Ben Crawford is an Irish artist currently residing and working in Australia. There is a sense of magical realism in his paintings perhaps due to the juxtaposition of the saturated colours on the canvas and the narratives contained within them which, often, stem from his own life.

 He has been painting since he graduated from the Crawford College of Art in 2007, but since moving to Australia a decade ago he has found his painting practice has gradually become more personal in nature. Last year, in 2020, he had his first solo exhibition in Australia. Titled ‘Eighty eight miles per hour’, the body of work drew from childhood memories and family anecdotes to form the narrative structure of the paintings.  

In this painting, ‘Mamma, you’ve been on my mind', Crawford again references memories from his youth: much of his adolescence was spent roaming through barley fields in Ireland with his brother and seeking out daily adventures in the surrounding countryside. The title is also a sly nod to the artist Mamma Andersson. 

Ben Crawford is represented in Australia by Boom Gallery and Curatorial and Co.

Accolades

Educaton: BA (fine art) Crawford College of Art and Design, Cork, Ireland 2007.

Selected Exhibitions: Art For Charity ‘A Space Between’, online art auction,  March 2021; ‘Eighty Eight Miles Per Hour’, solo show with Boom Gallery, Australia, November 2020; ‘Nearness’, group show, 2020 Boom Gallery, Australia; BAM Arts Prize, group show, Thom Gallery, Australia, 2018; ‘Happiness’ group show, The Lavit Gallery, Cork Ireland, 2010; ‘The Sheer Unspeakable Strangeness of Being Here at All’, solo show, The Shaw Gallery, Ireland, 2008. 

@ben_crawford_art
www.bencrawfordart.com