Benjamin Hope (born 1976) is a British artist, based in London.
Life
He grew up in Oxford, the son of the painter Jane Hope and an academic historian (two of his grandparents were also artists).
After studying Mathematics and Physics at the University of Warwick and taking Part III of the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge University, he was awarded a PhD in theoretical nanoscience at Cambridge. He has been a competitive runner and earned four Cambridge Blues for cross-country.
Hope was invited to join the Oxford Art Society in 1999, and in 2001 his still-life Old Violin won the Oxford Times Critics' Choice at the society's Members' Exhibition. In 2002, for its 400th anniversary, the Bodleian Library commissioned a commemorative still-life.
On leaving academia in 2007, he worked as a risk analyst in the City of London in order to earn enough to start painting professionally. In 2011, he left the City to paint full-time from his studio in Blackheath, South East London.
Work
Working mainly in oil, but also in charcoal, pastel, and pencil, his works include plein air street scenes, detailed still lifes, and impressionistic portraits. The street scenes are mainly of locations in central and south London, while he has also painted landscapes beyond the capital. John Walsh in The Independent called him "a brilliantly accomplished impressionistic painter of street scenes."
His work has been selected for a number of exhibitions, including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2013. His first solo show, Observations was staged by the JP Art Gallery in London in 2015. A joint exhibition with sculptor Ben Hooper was held at the Gallery Different in Fitzrovia in June 2017.
In 2018 he was elected to The Pastel Society and the New English Art Club.
Awards and recognition
Hope has won a number of prizes and awards:
- Lynn Painter Stainers Prize, Runner Up (2014)
- Pintar Rapido First Prize (2014)
- Jackson's Prize, United Society of Artists Open Exhibition (2014)
- Jackson's Pastel Portrait Competition, First Prize (2016)
- New English Art Club: Mall Galleries Greetings Card Award (2016)
His work has been selected for exhibition in
- Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 2013
- New English Art Club
- The Pastel Society
- Royal Institute of Oil Painters
- Royal Society of British Artists
- Royal Society of Portrait Painters.
Notes
- ^ Island Fine Arts 2017.
- ^ Walsh 2015.
- ^ Caves 2016.
- Nichols 2012.
- Sysmoko 2017.
- ^ Oxford Art Society 2017.
- ^ Wall Street International 2017.
- ^ Mall Galleries 2017.
- ^ John Jones London 2013.
- ^ ArtRabbit 2015.
- Pastel Society 2018.
- NEAC 2018.
References
- "Benjamin Hope. Solo Exhibition - Exhibition at JP ART GALLERY in London". ArtRabbit. 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- Caves, Julie (2016). "Benjamin Hope Paints From Life". Jackson's Art Blog. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- "Modern British Painters: Benjamin Hope". Island Fine Arts. 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- "Benjamin Hope - RA Summer Show". John Jones London. 2013. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- "Benjamin Hope". Mall Galleries. 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- Nichols, Dixie (2012). "Artist". Handmade Lives. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- "Hope, Ben". Oxford Art Society. 2017. Archived from the original on 1 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- "Benjamin Hope PS NEAC". The Pastel Society. 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- "Congratulations to our two new members". New English Art Club. 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
- "Ben Hope Art". Sysmoko. 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- "Benjamin Hope and Ben Hooper". Wall Street International. 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
- Walsh, John (21 November 2015). "Notebook: From Clapham to Cornwall... This Streetwise Artist is a Breath of Fresh Air". Independent on Saturday. Radar Supplement. p. 10.
External links
- Benjamin Hope - Artist (official web site)