Distant Sea

At almost two metres in height, Ben Sledsens’ Distant Sea (2022) presents a monumental pastoral vision. Four trees covered in ivy stand tall, their lush foliage extending beyond the picture plane. A few orange leaves are scattered amongst the verdant green below, hinting at seasonal change. Thick grass undulates over the rolling hills, and in the background lies the titular sea. A path curves towards the water where, far in the distance, a solitary boat makes its way through the still world. Although idyllic in feel, the scene is enigmatic, as if the environment were too tranquil to be real. Indeed, the landscape is purposefully open-ended to encourage multiple interpretations and narrative associations. As the artist himself puts it, ‘I like to build compositions around instances of climax, where the scenes appear to capture the moments before and after the ones depicted’ (quoted in C. Boemio, ‘Ben Sledsens’, Curator, January 2024).

Born in 1991, Sledsens studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown of Antwerp. He sees art history as his primary source of inspiration and reimagines its offerings across his canvases. Looking to artists such as Henri Rousseau, Claude Monet and Pierre Bonnard, he transfigures historical motifs, colours and gestures to create new worlds in which past and present merge together. Unlike his Impressionist and Post-Impressionist predecessors, who worked en plein air, Sledsens conceives of his arcadias in the studio. He often begins a painting in acrylic before switching to oil. Built up in layers, a single composition might contain several hidden images that the artist has painted over and reimagined. Over time, the true picture emerges, allowing Sledsens to compound multiple meanings. Distant Sea is a compelling demonstration of this process, its scene at once familiar and startlingly new.