Kent Knowles. Alto, Private Collection
Ken Knowles. Ojo, Private Collection
Ben Ellington with Dark Animals.
Art Collector Ben Ellington Discusses the Work of Kent Knowles
In the same way that our dreams are often manifestations of the important events happening around us, Kent Knowles' paintingS like Dark Animals seem to bring to life our fears, strengths, and possibly even the importance of the many symbiotic relationships that occur in our world.
J.L.M.: Thank you for agreeing to discuss the painting with me. Can you give us some insight into why you were interested in the painting?
B.E: I felt an instant connection to Dark Animals the moment I saw it. The work displays a common Knowles theme of impending danger offset by a sense of tranquility and strength in the central figure.
On the surface, it has a certain Colonial feel, which makes it appropriate for display in my Williamsburg home while still leaving the door open to a deeper study of the meaning of the work in the eyes of each individual viewer.
I often enjoy pondering the source of the apparent looming danger and wonder if the figure is also unsure of what may be approaching. I share in the relative sense of protective calm that the animals seem to be giving her, and identify with the idea that each of us at some point finds ourselves being protected by our own dark animals, whatever they may be. I wonder if she is also giving them the same sense of calm, and whether the protective nature of their relationship is reciprocal, as it often is in life.
In the same way that our dreams are often manifestations of the important events happening around us, Kent Knowles' paintings like Dark Animals seem to bring to life our fears, strengths, and possibly even the importance of the many symbiotic relationships that occur in our world.
Ben is the Williamsburg City Executive for Southern Bank and Trust Company (Mt. Olive, NC). He has spent the last 18 years working primarily with business and commercial loan clients in both Georgia and Virginia. Ben earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics from the University of Georgia in Athens, GA, then completed a course of studies with the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. He has also recently earned a financial technology certification from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Ben is an active member of the Williamsburg community, serving on several local non-profit boards and spending his free time enjoying the local attractions or fishing and crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay. As an art collector and patron of the Linda Matney Gallery for many years, Ben notes that his appreciation has naturally progressed over time from interesting figurative works to art that he feels serves the deeper purpose of actually stirring human emotions.
Kent Knowles’ work (center) in The Task That Is the Toil. VIEW ON ARTSY
