Ben Heine is a Belgian-based multidisciplinary visual artist best known for his original series of 3-D paintings that are big enough for him to pose with. Though Ben has a degree in journalism from Institut des Hautes Etudes des Communications Sociales in Belgium and Utrecht University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, he is mostly self-taught in the disciplines of drawing and photography.
In 2010 Heine put on a remarkable installation called Pencil Vs. Camera that mixed imaginative illustrations with real life photography. The series is part of a longer graphic exploration where Heine often incorporates handmade drawings into realistic backgrounds. What’s unique about these pieces is that Heine’s hand is always visible in the pieces, representing the close connection between the artist, medium and purveyor.
Heine says:
I just make art for people. I want them to dream and forget their daily troubles. I used to write poems many years ago, I want to convey a poetic and philosophical meaning into my pictures, each new creation should tell a story and generate an intense emotion, like a poem, like a melody.”
Though Heine’s lifelike drawings are usually done in black and white on blank paper, they come across as colorful because they amplify the contrast between our imaginations and surrounding reality.
Enjoy more of Heine’s artwork on Facebook, and find his prints available here.
via Deviant Art
