JULIE BENNETT - ICONIC
Iconic is an exhibition of portraits in which Julie Bennett celebrates the musicians and artists who have influenced her own creative journey.
Exhibition: 4 January - 23 April 2024
Private View: Friday 12 January 2024 6-8 pm
Booking is required for the exhibition. Click here to book.
Iconic brings together, for the first time, Bennett’s paintings of her heroes from the music and art worlds. The subjects of this series include David Bowie, Boy George, Frida Kahlo, and Madonna. Bennett’s works explore her connection to these personalities. Her portraits are more than homage; they express a longing for something unattainable.
Bennett, driven by a lifelong obsession with music and art, spent her teenage years working at a record shop and later, after graduation as a graphic designer, for top UK music and celebrity magazines. Mid-career, she transitioned to painting, propelled by a desire to convey emotions beyond the limitations of the digital screen and wanting to embrace the unpredictability of paint and the absence of a delete key. Seeking a deeper connection with her artistic expression, she pursued a painting degree at Camberwell College of Art.
Bennett's encounters with her icons inform her work, whether through those she has met and come to know, or through those she has studied in-depth while designing magazine covers or researching their bodies of work. She hopes her works will encourage viewers to contemplate their own relationships with celebrities and their function in society.
Works are individually priced. Contact the Box Office to reserve or purchase a work. Unframed prints are available for immediate purchase. Paintings can be collected at the end of the exhibition, on 24 April 2024.
Arlington Arts Centre, Mary Hare, Snelsmore RG14 3BQ.
Box Office: 01635 244 246
Two special limited edition prints available to reserve
To mark the Iconic exhibition, Bennett is launching two limited edition prints of two of her art icons, Jean Michel Basquiat and Frida Kahlo. To reserve a print, please complete the form below. We will get in touch to arrange payment and delivery.
Left: Jean Michel-Basquiat Right: Frida Kahlo
Print specifications: Printed with archival pigment ink on Hahnemuehle cotton-rich fibre-based paper. Signed on the front with the edition number. The print will be packed with protective backing boards to ensure that it arrives in a pristine condition. The large Frida Kahlo will be sent rolled.
Press
