Ben is a gothic portrait artist based in Leeds.
Ben Johnson is a fine artist from Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom and studied Fine Art in York, receiving a distinction for a thesis on existentialism, Giacometti and Carl Jung. His work is interested in themes around alienation and the outsider, having formed an empathy with individuals who experience alternate realities as a means of survival. His paintings often incorporate dark fairy-tale motifs, as symbols to help process and sublimate the reality of life, through the realms of the imagination.
Ben’s paintings may act as a catalyst, for discussions around a more humane and progressive form of mental health support. Having worked in community-based crisis and mental health teams for 20 years. He has also been training on a Psychotherapy Masters.
Influenced by painters such as Ken Currie, Inka Essenhigh, Giacometti, Goya and Steven Assael; as well as the heavy metal scene, literature and cinema. He has curated an exhibition at Dean Clough Gallery in the UK, with the sculptor Joseph Goddard and painters Bay Backner and Sarah Shaw. Ben’s painting belongs in the collection of existential therapist Irvin Yalom, Dr Amy Christmas and Archaeological Scientist Eleanor Scerri. Ben has had a solo exhibition in his hometown of Leeds and exhibited at the international digital Arts platform Sight-sonic.
