photographer/artist

Chris Ballantyne’s work focuses on vernacular architecture and observation of the American landscape.  Banal features of suburban and industrial zones are sources for paintings that highlight the quirky and absurd.  Ballantyne states that, “Growing up in a military family and moving to different parts of the country, there was a certain familiarity to the kinds of houses and neighborhoods. They were a series of suburban developments built in separate regions of the country, always on the outskirts of larger cities, at the exit ramps of interstate highways, and all very similar in age and design.  My own notions of space developed out of this cultural landscape which was striving for an indidvidual sense of personal space,  consciously economic, and somewhere between urban and rural.” Dysfunctional structures are flawless in their strangeness, made beautiful through symmetry, simplified lines and flat, subdued colors. Ballantyne eliminates detail to emphasize the subtleties of the way we experience space and our attempts at containment. He extends these concepts further by expanding the imagery of his paintings beyond the picture plane and onto the surrounding walls. “Most of my works involve combinations of various places, drawn from memory. As well, my own interests in skateboarding and surfing altered how I saw  the use of these structures ranging from empty pools, sidewalk curbs, to ocean jetties in a way that tied in to my sense of this larger push and pull between culture and nature.” With shrewd restraint, Ballantyne accentuates the antisocial effects of our built environment with a hint of humor and plenty of ambiguity. A curious emptiness permeates the work of Chris Ballantyne. Graphically rendered buildings, pools, parking lots, and fences take on new meanings and amplified significance, isolated on flat fields of color.

Ben is an artist and graphic designer. He resides in Hackney Wick, London where he runs his own personal practice, the creative partnership 'Booth/Kelly' with designer John Booth and 'Hackney Wick Life Drawing' alongside fellow artist Ben Wakeling. His work has featured in multiple group exhibitions and in March 2019 had his first solo exhibition at Stour Space Gallery.

Jan Hakon Erichsen is a Norwegian artist who works within a variety of media focusing on topics like fear, anger and frustration. He has spent several years perfecting a D.I.Y aesthetic with found objects being the main source of work material. Erichsen has exhibited widely in Norwegian and international galleries and partaken in numerous international video festivals after he finished his education at the National Academy of Arts in Oslo. At the moment his main focus is making short destruction videos which he posts everyday on his Instagram account

Alexandre Benjamin Navet is a multidisciplinary artist and art director currently living in Paris, FR.  Graduated from ENSCI–Les Ateliers, the École nationale supérieure de création industrielle in 2011.  Grand prize winner of the Design Parade Toulon - Van Cleef & Arpels.