Benjamin Stanford is a figurative painter based in Denver, Colorado. His process begins with a blend of drawing, photography, and digital manipulation, which allows him to freely distort, reconfigure, and intuitively build images before committing them to paint. This hybrid approach creates a scaffold on which subconscious imagery and archetypal symbols begin to surface in atmospheric voids stripped of narrative context.

Throughout the course of a painting, Ben embraces uncertainty, allowing intuition and accident to play an equal role in the painting’s evolution. The result is imagery that while deliberate, is imbued with a strategic ambiguity that redirects away from literal interpretations. In doing so, he looks to externalize an inner terrain- where the body becomes a vessel for the unseen, emotional resonance takes priority over narrative clarity, and where viewers might encounter a fragment of themselves reflected back in unfamiliar light.

While experimentation is core to Ben’s practice, he is deeply committed to the lineage of classical painting, gathering inspiration from time-honored techniques. These historical practices serve not merely as aesthetic choices, but as philosophical anchors. For him, tradition offers structure-a self-imposed set of limitations where craftsmanship is not trapped in nostalgia, but is embraced as a generative force that opens up a dialogue between past and present.