The Warlord 1978

Benjamin Canas’ painting, The Warlord, is made with a surreal sensibility, and earthy colours. There's a kind of alchemy in his approach, turning strange, personal visions into something we can all relate to. I love the way Canas builds up texture. The skin of the figures feels both smooth and almost crumbly, like ancient plaster. The way the umber paint of the warlord's robes merges with the green of his oversized collar is particularly compelling. It’s like the colours are fighting and making up at the same time. There's a real sense of push and pull in the work, a dynamic tension that keeps the eye moving. Canas reminds me of the work of Leonora Carrington, another artist who wasn’t afraid to blend the strange with the familiar. Like Carrington, Canas invites us to look beyond the surface of things, to see the hidden connections that bind us all together. And maybe that's what art is all about, right? Embracing the ambiguity, the messiness, the sheer wonderful weirdness of being alive.