Drawing from Life: Ben Long & Tony Griffin
November 21, 2020 - March 20, 2021 | Rankin West Gallery
Ben Long and Tony Griffin are two established North Carolina painters with a lifelong friendship. The two met when Tony was only six years old, and Ben quickly took Tony under his wing, teaching him drawing and painting and ensuring Tony's formal education. By the time he was a teenager, Tony accompanied Ben on his travels across Europe, where together they studied works by the old masters, and Ben worked on his frescoes with renowned Italian artist Pietro Annigoni. Over several summers, Ben and Tony both lived and worked in Blowing Rock and were active in the local artistic community. Today, many years later, Ben is best known for his large scale fresco work, and Tony is an established painter and illustrator of people and landscapes.
Rather than focusing on their more well known works, this exhibition explores Ben and Tony’s long term relationship, their ties to the Blowing Rock area, and specifically, their figurative and portrait drawings. Traditional drawing serves as the foundation of both Ben and Tony’s work, and figure drawing and portraiture throughout art history has inspired both of their artistic practices. These works on paper often show people with whom Ben and Tony each have close friendships. Taking a closer look, we can see that these drawings tell just as much about the models they depict as they do the lives of the artists themselves.
Special Thanks to our sponsors:
The Art Cellar, Pam & Mike McKay
Katy Thompson & John Carlson
Mark L. Richardson
Claudia & Andy Heath
Melissa & Matthew McDonald
Philip Smith
Larry & Brenda Sorkin
Ed & Anna McMahan
Image Credits
Artists Tony Griffin (left) and Ben Long (right) in Ben's studio, Asheville, NC. Photograph by Chris Clamp.
Ben Long (Asheville, NC). Keith Beeson, 2998. Charcoal and pastel on paper. Photograph by Chris Clamp.
Tony Griffin (Charlotte, NC). Napping Kiva, 2010. Charcoal and pastel on colored paper. Photograph by Chris Clamp.
