Painting rapidly: new expressions of form

Born in Denmark, 1996, Benedikte Klüver grew up in a family of painters, and so she was naturally inspired to follow her dream of being an artist. She moved to London in 2016 in order to develop her practice and study art.

When did you start painting, drawing and creating and what pushed you towards it?
I have always been painting. Two of my grandparents were painters, so it has always been a natural part of my childhood to be creative. As I grew older and my work developed, I felt a stronger response from people around me, and which encouraged me to work more ambitiously, beyond being my innocent hobby.

Working also as a model, Benedikte draws this influence from fashion into her work which reflects the moods and the situations she finds herself in. Using media such as acrylic paint, linocut, photography experiments and Ipad, Benedikte possesses a wide palette for exploration of her visions.

The only limitation when creating art is your own courage. Courage to explore, experiment and develop yourself within your practice. Under several circumstances in my life I have learned, how courage has affected me creatively. And art has always been a central element; I’ve always drawn and painted, but gradually, my practice grew into a necessity of life.

For me, my practice is a space that is uniquely my own — where I can let my creative instincts take over, where I can explore and interpret the world around me.

Almost by chance, I ended up studying a BA (Hons) in Interaction Design Arts at University of the Arts London in 2017 — A course far from my original practice, but a course that would broaden my creative horizon tremendously.

Currently my work is focused on the female figure and portraiture. I am very fascinated of the role of the gaze and its impact of our representation. I work in the media of oil and acrylic painting, digitally, film photography experiments and linocuts. My interests develops and changes constantly, but I find painting as my spine of development across all media.

Painting on artist

I also use my job as a model as an important tool in my working process. To me, Modelling is really just about the understanding in aesthetics. When I’m painting, I turn an objective eye to my body and let it be transformed for the shoot.

The distance this creates gives me the chance to step away and experience myself from the role I have been entitled for at the shoot, and maybe in this way, discover new perspectives of the same girl. The body becomes an instrument for the idea process which will evolve later on.

How do you find the balance between the vision you have and the mediums you are using?

I’m always curious to explore other media such as photography and animation. I’m never fully settled, but I love to paint more than anything else, so it will probably always be my main medium.

What inspired your style of painting? Where do you get inspiration from? Are there any particular artists, photographers, painters drawers you look up to their works?

My strong interest in fashion and the fact that I work as a model myself, have almost defined my style of work. I love to discover unusual colour combinations in my surroundings; clothing, a dining table, a tree… 

When it comes to artists, I always enjoy looking at works by Picasso, Matisse, Schiele, Klimt, Gabriele Münter.

What is the process behind the creation of a piece?

It usually starts with a few keywords that I write on my phone at the moment they pop up in my head. Then I will sketch the idea on my iPad to get it visualised (it always ‘looks’ perfect in the mind, but it’s a different story when it’s actually there in front of you). The iPad is a perfect tool for this: It’s fast, and you can jump between colours with just a tap. Once the fundamental decisions of the painting are made, I will sketch it on the canvas, and roughly follow my sketches as I move on…