Benjamin Deakin
My recent body of work is largely represented by paintings of modest interiors looking out at Himalayan mountains-capes. These works continue my enduring interest in landscape and mountains as subjects in art but which increasingly use windows and interior space to explore spatial possibilities in painting. By including the mountains as a constant presence they begin to function in the way in which iconography does in many cultures, itself a reference to the sacred role that Mountains play in many Asian cultures. I’m interested in the ways in which people relate to landscapes culturally and the role that painting has played in forming these relationships. By including the everyday-looking domestic objects placed before the spectacular backdrop of the mountains I intend to upend the Romantic archetypes often attributed to mountain scenery.
Benjamin Deakin was shortlisted for the Contemporary British Painting Prize in 2023. Solo Exhibitions include: ‘Close Distance’ JGM Gallery, London (2022), The Tea House Paintings, TM lighting Gallery (2022). Group exhibitions: Land[e]scapes: ArtSeen, Nicosia, Cyprus (2024); Edgeland: Turps Gallery, London (2024); ’Cubitt 30’’ Victoria Miro Gallery, London (2022) ‘Horizon’ Cello Factory, London (2022), Contemporary British Painting Prize 2021. Residencies include: PADA studios 2018, Joya Art+Ecologica, Andalucia, Spain (2017); Listhus, Olafsfjordur, Iceland in 2015; KIAC Dawson City, Yukon, Canada (2008), University of Kathmandu, Nepal (2005), Hospitalfield Trust, Arbroath, Scotland (2002). 2019 saw the publishing of a book on his recent work: Reimagining Somewhere and Nowhere by Stephen Baycroft.
b.[1977]. Lives and works in London, UK.