Benoit Gardner
About me
Born on 11th April 1969 and grew up in the village of Beckford in Gloucestershire. In 1997, moved to London, then in 2020 I moved to Hertford. I was brought up in an arts environment. my Parents started a printing company, Beckford Silk Ltd in the early 70's, which remains family run to this day
In 1992, graduated from Cheltenham Collage of Art with a BA Hons in Fine Art Painting. Since then, I have been involved in numerous design-based projects, which include; mural painting, interior shop design, textiles and product design. In 2013, I decided to return to painting, which I currently do alongside working as a picture framer for a specialist art gallery in central London,
In 2016, I organised a short exhibition of my paintings entitled 'True Colours'. The main works were influenced and inspired by the colour vibrancy and palettes of India, Mexico and the Asian continent. More specifically, each of the larger paintings had a predominant colour hue.
My work and style
Recently, I have begun to develop a bolder abstract style, which I describe as my 'splash paintings'. Large areas of colour are dripped, poured and flicked onto the canvas. This is a departure from my previous work which was tonally more even. I begin each painting with a coloured ground and allow it to develop organically as the layers build up over time. The process is complete once I feel that the mark making and tones are of interest whilst retaining a spontaneous and fresh look. With my paintings, I try to convey the joy and creative excitement of colour.
Artists who's work inspire me include; Albert Irvin. Sir Howard Hodgkins and John Hoyland.
Benoit Gardner CV
1991 Graduated from Cheltenham Art College with a BA Hons in Fine Art Painting
1991 Cheltenham Degree Show
1991 Fresh Art Design Centre London
1992 Bruton Street Art Gallery London
2012 Shape Open Art London
2014 Acava Open Studio London
2015 Colville Art Gallery London
2015 Acava Open Studio London
2016 True Colours The Tabernacle Art Gallery London
2016 Acava Open Studio London
2017 Acava Open Studio London
2018 Summer Splash The Laundry Gallery Aviemore Scotland
2018 Acava Open Studio London