BENJAMIN RODGER
Biography
Benjamin Rodger studied Visual Arts and French and Québécois Literature at the University of Ottawa. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and a specialization in Studio Arts from Concordia University in Montréal, as well as a National Postgraduate degree in Plastic Arts and a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the École nationale supérieure d’art de la Villa Arson, in Nice, France.
Artistic Approach
“One thing I consider essential in painting is the notion of pleasure: having pleasure painting, receiving pleasure from the painting and the painting having pleasure with itself. I select subjects that, although rooted in art history, are largely based on popular culture and the people around me.
I like basing my work on taking patterns from different sources (wallpaper, fabrics, and garments) and the relation they have with contemporary painting. I reproduce these patterns in paint, which triggers—or at least raises—questions about the painting as an object, as a substance, and as a gesture.
What happens when the imitation is imitated by the thing it is imitating? I add a second subject to this: that of a photo-based figurative subject. It is true that at first glance these two genres seem to clash, but they do, however, question painting in the same manner: imitation as painting and painting as imitation.”
Comments of the Canadian Jury
“A vast understanding of his art; a rigorous and contemporary approach.”
“Based on popular culture, can be considered as ‘Post Pop Art,’ an artist who is well grounded in his artistic approach.”
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