Ben Hammond

Ben was born in 1977. He was raised in the rural town of Pingree, Idaho, where his love for art was nurtured from the time he was a small boy. He studied art at Ricks College graduating with a degree in Illustration. While at college, he found himself dedicating more and more of his time to sculpting. He also gained a great appreciation for traditional art and decided to devote his time to sculpting the human figure. His passion for the beauty of the human figure is exemplified in his art.

Ben’s sculptures have been included in many juried shows throughout the country, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards. Ben most recently competed in The National Competition for Figurative Sculpture where he was awarded the prestigious Charlotte Geffken Prize at Brookgreen Gardens. For the past three years he has been awarded the Dexter Jones Award for bas relief from the National Sculpture Society. In 2007, he was awarded both First Place in Sculpture and the Purchase Award at The Scottsdale Artists’ School Best and Brightest Juried Show. Ben is also a talented portrait artist and for the past four years has completed portrait busts for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Ben is an elected member of the National Sculpture Society. His works have been featured in many art magazines, including The American Art Collector, Art of the West and Southwest Art. He is represented by galleries in Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah, and his work can be viewed online at benhammondfineart.com.

Artist’s statement
I love to create art. I love expressing my perception of life through the human figure. However, I feel that my love of creating art is not enough. Great art needs to be composed, designed, and show a deep understanding of the subject that is being represented. All the art I admire from the old masters to the present have these characteristics in common. My goal is to study these characteristics and apply them to my own work. 

In order to accomplish this goal, I continuously study anatomy and gesture, portraiture, composition and design, and most importantly I sculpt from life. I also feel it is important to study and learn from the masters of the past and present. I have a great appreciation for traditionalism, classicism, and realism in art as well as great admiration for artists such as Michelangelo, Canova, Rodin, Daniel Chester French, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Loredo Taft, Manzu, Zuniga, Mucha, and many others.

Each of my sculptures is composed to keep the viewer engaged in the piece through the elements and principles of design; every gesture, each fold of drapery, the pose of the figure, etc. are arranged in a manner that the viewer’s eye is led and kept engaged within the piece of sculpture.