Bennie is a Dutch artist who creates drawings and paintings on wood, canvas and paper, using a variety of techniques. Lately, he has been combining the controlled movements of Japanese calligraphy with the impulsive and instinctive gestures of the Cobra movement.

His work reflects and voices the image he has of himself and others as an incapable, conflicted human individual trapped within a system that does not work. The distorted, clumsy, and uncomfortable figures he depicts (almost) succumb under the pressure of “normal” life. Yet, his artistic style and methods seek to liberate this person.

In the spirit of the existentialist philosopher Albert Camus, the artist is someone who attempts to give meaning to an absurd or chaotic world. In Bennie’s case, he does not succeed, and that’s a good thing.

“I paint on behalf of the outsiders.”

Bennie Stilt is an alias of visual artist and producer Jeroen Opstelten