Ben Ashton
“To Our Glorious Future”
July 9th - July 30th 2021
Opening night reception July 9th 6-9pm
Ben Ashton
Roq La Rue is thrilled to host British painter Ben Ashton, who has gained international recognition for his surreal Regency- style portraiture. Ashton’s work delves into the myths, lies and confabulations of class, supremacy, and the weaponisation of nostalgia. Skewering the concept of aristocracy via the swagger portraits of Empire, his work also evokes a dark hallucinogenic beauty that entices the viewer in. Running the gamut from ethereally delicate to brutally grotesque, the work is always mesmerizing.
This show will contain oil paintings on canvas as well as paper. There will be a stereoscopic painting featuring two identical images hand painted by Ashton alongside a viewer also created by the artist. Additionally, noticing how often gallery visitors take photos of themselves looking at paintings, the artist has created a large backdrop of the same surrealistic backrounds found in his paintings that viewers can take photos of themselves in front of and place themselves within the painting!
Ashton has exhibited all over the world including shows in the US, Australia, Britain, and Russia. He is a two time award winner of the BP Portrait Award from the National Portrait Gallery in London.
To view the show images and information: Please click on a thumbnail to see each work. Information about each piece will appear when you hover over the image. On a smart phone: click the thumbnail then pres the “more info” button at the bottom of the screen. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions!
