GALLERY 2

BENNETT SLATER

"Yonder!"

Slater's work is heavily inspired by pop culture elements and drawn from the relationships the future shares with the past, the new from the old, life from death. Utilizing traditional oil methods on wood, his work plays with techniques borrowed from Flemish and Dutch master disciplines, combined with bold, geometric forms linked to more contemporary futurism and deco sensibilities. This dichotomy of contrasting artistic disciplines and influences lends itself to the underlying dualities observed in his work. YONDER! marks Slater’s third solo show at CHG, following Giving Up The Ghost (Nov. 2021) and Homemade Easy (Nov. 2020).

Regarding his new series, the artist shares, “It’s a grand ol’ journey west! Tumbling weeds, living skies, and dusty trails don’t tell the whole tale. This series kicks over the logs of the fabled west and spies a gander at the wild critters that scuttle out. With the promise of the West, came the ideal of wealth and opportunity, but while the train laid its tracks down and screamed across the wild plains, it wasn’t slowing for anything in its path. The wild roses of the land were ripped up by the roots and replaced with cold iron. The vibrant colors and shapes of the land, the people, and the cultures were stripped away to build monuments to a new world ? totems of a hollow promise. This series explores the dualities of past and present, elemental and manufactured, love and loss, spirit and ego. The land holds no secrets, and it’s ready to reveal what awaits…YONDER!”

About Bennett Slater:

Bennett Slater is a fine artist currently working out of Toronto, Canada. Utilizing traditional oil painting methods on wood surfaces, his influences range from the rich depth of the Dutch masters to gaudy flash of B-movies ? from Van Dyck to Vincent Price. Slater’s subjects often meet at the crossroads between classic and contemporary idols of worship. This dichotomy of contrasting artistic disciplines and influences lends itself to the underlying dualities observed in his work.