Ben Lanigan holds first exhibition in Belfast
Photos of exhibition by Ben Farr
Kilkennyman Ben Lanigan has just launched his first solo exhibition in Belfast.
The exhibition consists of work ranging over two years exhibiting his investigation of understanding how to represent his subject matter and the space they live in.
Originally from Kilkenny, Ben moved to Belfast in July 2020 to study fine art at Ulster University.
Both sides of Ben’s family are naturally creative with his grandfather Jack Lanigan known for his amateur dramatics with groups such as the Don Bosco players and the New Theatre group.
Jack was also a painter in his spare time and a keen set designer.
On Ben’s maternal side of the family his grandfather Jim Cody was well known in the music circle, being one half of the ‘Wetlands orchestra’.
Jim played accordion and was very fond of a seisiún. Ben hasn’t forgotten his roots and thinks about Kilkenny frequently with some of his childhood memories of growing up in Clonmoran shown in his paintings.
One such piece is ‘Wetlands Absence’ which is an ode to his grandparents Jim and Sally Cody.
Ben finds Kilkenny creeping more and more into his work where he aims to emulate a home away from home.
He is son of Ger Lanigan an Jacinta Cody and spent his early learning years attending St Patrick’s De La Salle in Kilkenny, and later moved on to St.Kieran’s College.
Ger says that he received some great life lessons while attending St Kierans and reflects on Michael Kelleher as a great influence. “He was the epitome of a good teacher, always there with encouragement for every student,” said Mr Lanigan.
After this exhibition he will go on to prepare for his final year degree show in June 2024.
‘Looking, to define space’ is both the idea of searching to define what can be perceived as space in the real world and on canvas.
As well as this, it is also the action of ‘looking’ which he finds himself doing quite a lot.
This body of work emulates a calm and harmonious approach to the everyday subject matter.
While walking around Belfast it can be easy to take for granted the beautiful buildings and roof tops around us.
Recently Ben has found himself focusing on these buildings, interested in their shadows, symmetry and stories.
Inspired by artists such as David Hockney, Hiroshi Nagai and Edward Hopper, he has taken snippets of each artist’s outlook on life to piece together his own approach.
Ben enjoys similar subject matter, such as intimate space in which he portrays in ‘Wellwood hills’
The Kilkenny Observer met with Ben on his recent visit to Kilkenny when we asked how he summed up his work?
“The best way to describe this piece is to think of your sitting room while you’re at work, it’s still there but you’re not, it’s a liminal representation. Life continues in the background even though there is no one at home. An underlying thought of how we as humans often forget and abandon what makes us calm and feel safe in pursuit of artificial Happiness comes to mind”, commented Ben.
As a painter, he uses various processes to achieve his pop art style. Paper collages are a favourite of his as this allows him to pick and choose what colours work well together and have a first-hand reference for the final piece.
Other methods include digital collage which allow for an opaquer finish.
Sometimes these techniques go hand in hand or feed into each other allowing for a finished outcome whatever the medium.
Ben aims to allow the audience to take a minute to think, look and feel at ease while enjoying his work.
Over the past eight months Ben has heavily relied on his art to get him through difficult times in his life, and his work is a form of creating a new world for him to think positively and feel comfortable in his surroundings while also exploring the world we live in, learning how to define space.
More of Ben’s work can be found on his Instagram: @art_by_benjaminlanigan
