Benjamin Duke

Looking After People - Surreal Landscape with People and Cartoons

2018

In Shivers, a disease is spread through the throat, resulting in a zombie-like infection. In this painting, coupled with an image from The Eyes of Laura Mars, is a reference to ideological possession and the use of compelled speech. It is a concern towards those who display totalitarian traits in their quest for justice, too caught up in their own righteousness to really consider the damage they are doing. The do in the background stands above the lifeless body of a woman, it is dogma and its dismantlement of womanhood. Inspired by the films Shivers, 1975 The Eyes of Laura Mars, 1978 Georgia Hinaris Eyes of Shivers oil on panel 16h x 24w in 40.64h x 60.96w cm GHS003 Horror films are the most profound and visceral of films, garnering the most extreme responses: vehement hatred and cultish admiration. Horror elicits a controlled neurosis while exposing the rejected weaknesses and brutalities of humanity. I embrace the power of cinema and its ability to alter perception, as it is media that is a reflection of our primordial desires. I’m fascinated by concepts involving the limits of human perception, the ambiguity of morality in relation to nature, the paradoxical nature of reality, and the human struggle to reckon with uncertainty. Humans bear the burden of being as we are, all caught in a flux of unbelievable cognitive abilities and animalistic instincts. Every painting is in its own universe and I cater to it. Nothing is precious. Chaos is embraced. Georgia Hinaris, b. 1993, Chicago, Illinois Education 2019 MFA Painting, New York Academy of Art, New York, NY 2015 BFA Painting, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY Exhibitions 2020 Summer Exhibition, Flowers Gallery, New York, NY Summer Juried Exhibition, Prince Street Gallery, New York, NY 2019 Di Donna Gallery, New York, NY AXA Art Prize, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA, Richard Gray...

***This artwork is currently on exhibit at the Instituto Cervantes, Chicago until September 2025. If purchased this artwork will be available to ship after September 1, 2025. Contact the gallery with questions. This small portrait of a blonde female is exquisite in its execution. A blue replica is behind her which adds to the mystery of the painting. Why is this person here? Why is she painted in blue? Why are her eyes red and a red dot on her forehead? The painting is framed in a silver frame measuring 7.5h x 7.5w x 2d inches. Juan Barragán...