Born in Butte, Montana, Ben Crase lives and works in San Diego, California. Crase's figurative works depict self portraits in skewed, playful interiors, imbued with a sense of optimism and humour with signature pink hats symbolising camaraderie, compassion and kinship.
Working primarily with oil and oil stick, Crase masters the language of colour by layering materials to create rich expressive hues. With thickly textured impasto and graphic compositional elements, the scenes evoke an emotional response from the viewer – one that feels warm and familiar, while firmly rooted in the past.