Benjamin Kustow

Ben works in thin oil paint on canvas. Ben's portrait of the American president Barack Obama was painted during the American election campaign. The painting was featured in the Guardian newspaper, the day of the inauguration 19.01.09, in the article "The Obama Effect" by Laura Barton.He was attracted by Obama's face, the openess, the honesty, the direct look.

"My interests in the past three years have been in the idea of controlled art where a grid is used to map out the structure of the subject. I have concentrated on portraiture using a minimal colour palette to draw emphasis on the architectonic of the face. Working within the boundaries of the CYMK colour space has acted as a filter. Using a single colour restricts me to the depth that colour can make in an undiluted form."