Though created from paint, this folksy character’s shirt and pants have the texture of rough-hewn fabric, perfectly in keeping with his Johnny-Appleseed-like barefooted nature wanderer persona. By New York painter Benjamin Degen and titled ‘Kleos,’ it suggests that like the ancient Greeks, this home-grown oddball is also seeking a glory of sorts. (At Chelsea’s Susan Inglett Gallery through Dec 7th).
Benjamin Degen, Kleos, oil on canvas over panel, 2013.