Ben Randall
Year of birth: 1975.
Where do you live: Sydney, Australia.
Your education: Bachelor of Visual Arts & Diploma of Graphic Design.
Describe your art in three words: Colorful, Abstract, Expressive.
Your discipline: Painter/Painting.
www.benrandallart.com | Instagram
Your artist statement mentions the intricate beauty of nature and the complexities of humanity as inspirations. Can you share a specific experience or moment in nature that has significantly influenced your work?
When you look at my work, you may not immediately link the subject of nature and humanity together. But it’s there, and for me, this is the magical part of abstract painting. These two subjects inspire me greatly to create. It could be that hour before darkness encroaches to become night, and all the colors are hyper-magnified; or it may be that feeling when a warm spring breeze hits your face and makes all the leaves on the tree dance like ballerinas. It may be that moment that is lost in time, where a song or a place reignites a memory or feeling deep within. One you thought lost. This is my inspiration.
A good example is my painting *Pilgrim of a Traveling Gypsy Queen*. It is about a trip to Barcelona, walking and spending time down Las Ramblas. The street is so full of color and life, it’s hard to ignore. I remember sitting in a café just off Las Ramblas, and the song “Sinner Man” came on. I was young, full of life, and ready for adventure. Many years later, I played this song, and it took me back to that café in Barcelona, and I decided to paint that feeling. I could taste the coffee, I could feel the energy of the people, I could see the view out onto Las Ramblas with all the stalls and street performers. The magic of that time never left me, and that song gave me permission to visually document that time in my life.
You aim to create art that evokes emotions and provokes contemplation. How do you select the colors and shapes in your paintings to achieve this effect?
I believe colors and shapes play an integral part in everyone’s life; it could be the color or pattern of your favorite piece of clothing, the color of your furniture, or how you decorate your house. Colors and shapes mean something different to all of us.
The colors and shapes I use to help build a composition appeal to me first and foremost. Each piece must have meaning, its own life, and its own voice. My environment also plays a big part in the colors and shapes that inspire me to use. Last year I moved from the city to a place that is more rural. I have seen a shift in my work and a growth that was a little unexpected.
Ben Randall | Heart Beat Breaks, Slave to the Kiss | 2024Your paintings are deeply personal but left open to interpretation by the viewer. How do you balance personal meaning with the potential for diverse interpretations?
I paint from deep within me, from a place that is both beautiful and ugly. For this reason, I do not like to influence a viewer’s interpretation of my work. It may be that I am scared to do so, scared to show what I like about myself and also what I loathe about myself.
I am in awe of someone like Tracey Emin, who is so magnificently raw and unfiltered that the viewer has to love what I would consider to be my ugly side, but you fall in love with her openness. For me, that balance is a dance between artist and viewer; and I believe that is also what attracts viewers to abstract art, that it is interpretive. It’s not a landscape, portrait, or still life. The meaning of the artwork comes from the viewer having a deep connection with the artwork. The meaning or purpose is the viewer’s own interpretation, and I do not wish to encroach on that interpretation. This is what I think is so magnificently wonderful about abstract painting.
You mentioned that you don’t want viewers to ask, “What does this mean?” but instead let the artwork speak to them. How do you guide or influence the viewer’s emotional journey without explicit narrative?
I purposely try not to guide a viewer’s emotional journey; or if I do, it is subtle. Perhaps, if I am being truthful, a little emotional guidance is offered through the title of my artworks. Titles are precious to me and an important part of each of my paintings.
I would like to think I take on a similar premise as Quentin Tarantino does with his movie *Pulp Fiction*. In the movie, why do we never see what’s in the suitcase? Well, I like to think that is because Tarantino wants the audience to come up with their own narrative on this. He asks the audience to complete the movie, and in doing so, there could be a million versions of what is in the suitcase—and none are wrong.
This is how I see my work. I wish for the viewer to see what they want to see in my paintings, to feel what they want to feel, and ultimately, the viewer completes my work for themselves. Every interpretation of my work is not right, but nor is it wrong. It’s personal.
Ben Randall | Moon Hatched Gardens Gated By Pleasure | 2024Your use of abstract forms invites self-discovery and introspection. What kind of feedback or reactions from viewers resonate with you the most?
Luckily, I have been very fortunate with how people view my work. I have received a lot of positive feedback, and this, in turn, pushes me forward. Some view my work with interpretations that are wildly different from mine. Some can see figures or images in my paintings, where there is no intent to paint any type of figure or image into my work. Some just like the colors I use. Either reaction is completely okay with me.
Recently, I sold a piece to a buyer, and she messaged me and mentioned that the piece she bought really resonated and spoke to her. That means a lot to me. That’s the response I am after; she has completed my artwork with her own interpretation of it. Beautiful stuff!
Given that your work often leaves room for individual reflection, what do you hope viewers will take away from their interaction with your art?
A connection. I hope viewers find a connection with my art.
I really love this Hans Hofmann quote: “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”
For me, the “necessary” that may speak is my audience or the viewer. It’s their view and their interpretations of the artwork. I use my visual voice—colors, shapes, forms, brushstrokes—to offer a painting that hopefully speaks to a specific audience.
I use a lot of different techniques to engage a viewer, but mostly, I hope they look deep into my artwork, and then have some self-reflection. I hope they look at my work both up close and from far away because this is how I paint each piece.
I like to hide little bits of detail. One example is that I use a gloss medium and randomly place this through my pieces. If the light hits the gloss medium, it reflects, and the art takes on another life, but you have to look hard.
I like to paint with thick oil paints as I believe paintings need to be touched and felt; that makes the viewer closer to the artist.
But, ultimately, I wish for viewers to be connected to my work.
Ben Randall | Queen3In creating abstract art, do you ever find yourself surprised by your own work after it’s completed? How do those moments of surprise inform your creative process?
Yes, almost always. It is fair to say I have had more bad artworks than good. However, this is part of the process when you create. It took me a long time to understand that not every painting is a good one.
To quote Phillip Guston: “I stand in front of a blank canvas and have no clue as to how I created before.”
This is literally me. When the process starts, I am unsure where it will precisely end. There are tricks and tools I use to help start the artwork, and I generally have a color palette in mind, but where the artwork ends is a big guessing game.
I still look at some of my pieces and wonder how I achieved certain aspects that I like. The key is to experiment and play with the paint on the canvas, not to be afraid of making a “mistake.”
But what I love most is just painting and being creative.
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