Ben Kelly b 1974

Macclesfield based artist Ben Kelly was born in central Manchester in 1974. He is now nothing short of a phenomenon. Each exhibition he's held has sold out before opening and his main dealers have waiting lists running into three figures. No sooner is a painting finished than it finds a home.

Collectors desperate for his work are paying more than double to buy his paintings on the secondary market.

He trained at London's renowned Central St Martins College, and despite his great success as an artist he still works as a senior art lecturer at a Midlands' university - this despite the pleas of his dealers that he should paint full-time.

In 2006 his painting The Final Whistle beat over 800 entrants to win the prestigious Football Painting in Art Prize and £15,000 in prize money. The previous winner of this competition was L.S. Lowry in 1953 with his iconic painting Going to the Match. This set a new work record for a Lowry painting when it was bought by the PFA in 1999 for £1.9 million.

Ben Kelly is a fanatical Manchester City supporter and he was artist in residence during the 2007/2008 season. During this period he produced a series of 30 paintings depicting a year in the life of the club at their home ground. A dream job. The completed works were shown in his Painting the Blues exhibition held at the club's museum in February 2009. A painting from this period was recently purchased by the National Football Museum, his first sale to a public collection.

His quirky figurative paintings always carry a narrative and quite often feature people, dogs and horses and gatherings of ordinary life. But to suggest they are simple paintings is to overlook his great technical skill, a fact recognised by his fellow artists.

Ben's paintings are essentially about light and its play on everyday scenes. The way in which he fractures light in a complex series of paint layers is the defining and recognisable mark of his work. His oils are amongst the most technically accomplished of any artist practicing in Britain today.

His 2011 show entitled Looters and Other Stories sold out weeks before its official opening and shows that the artist is not afraid to tackle subjects that others might shy away from. This extraordinary series of paintings examined the Manchester City Centre riots in 2011, deftly and with great humour. He seemed to see through the disorder to recognise that the riot was little more than one of the gatherings that he has spent much of his career depicting.

His largest one man show to date was held at Clark Art Gallery in Hale in September 2014. The 95 works in the show sold out a month before the opening making it the fastest selling show ever held in the gallery. There is now a waiting list for this artist's work.

He has also exhibited at the Lowry Centre, the Lady Lever Art Gallery, The National Football Museum and the University of Salford. He is in numerous private collections including that of the Turner Prize winning artist Mark Wallinger and interior designer David Carter. He is also in the collection of the National Football Museum.
Ben Kelly

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Ben Kelly - A Coffee Break, Spinningfields

Oil on Board

24 x 20 ins (60.96 x 50.80 cms)

Price: £3,750.00

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Ben Kelly - A Pink Man With Beach Balls, St Ives

Oil on canvas

14 x 18 ins (35.56 x 45.72 cms)

Price: £2,250.00

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Ben Kelly - A Summer Afternoon By The Sea

Oil on Board

16 x 20 ins (40.64 x 50.80 cms)

Price: £3,200.00

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Ben Kelly - A Sunbather And Friends, St Ives

Oil on canvas

20 x 16 ins (50.80 x 40.64 cms)

Price: £2,950.00

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Ben Kelly - International Travellers

Oil on canvas

42 x 36 ins (106.68 x 91.44 cms)

Price: £4,750.00

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Ben Kelly - Mr Spot

Ben Kelly

Mr Spot

Oil on canvas

15 x 15 ins (38.10 x 38.10 cms)

Price: £1,750.00

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Ben Kelly - Night Sailing, Lytham St Anne's

Oil on Board

20 x 24 ins (50.80 x 60.96 cms)

Price: £3,750.00

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Ben Kelly - Richard Dunne Leads the Troops into Battle

Oil on Board

12 x 16 ins (30.48 x 40.64 cms)

Price: £2,500.00

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Ben Kelly - The Card Players, Central Park

Oil on Board

33½ x 24 ins (85.09 x 60.96 cms)

Price: £5,750.00

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Ben Kelly - The Card Players, Central Park

Oil on canvas

48 x 60 ins (121.92 x 152.40 cms)

Price: £11,500.00

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Ben Kelly - The Cove at Dusk

Ben Kelly

The Cove at Dusk

Oil on canvas

36 x 42 ins (91.44 x 106.68 cms)

Price: £8,500.00

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Ben Kelly - The Foragers

Ben Kelly

The Foragers

Oil on artists board

16 x 20 ins (40.64 x 50.80 cms)

Price: £2,950.00

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Ben Kelly - The Last Game of The Season

Oil on canvas

51 x 63 ins (129.54 x 160.02 cms)

Price: £12,500.00

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Ben Kelly - The Park Bubbles

Ben Kelly

The Park Bubbles

Oil on canvas

51¼ x 63 ins (130.18 x 160.02 cms)

Price: £11,950.00

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Ben Kelly - The Park Sunbathers

Oil on canvas

36 x 42 ins (91.44 x 106.68 cms)

Price: £8,950.00

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Ben Kelly - The Procession

Ben Kelly

The Procession

Oil on Canvas Board

20 x 24 ins (50.80 x 60.96 cms)

Price: £3,750.00

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Ben Kelly - The Watchers Spinningfields

Oil on artists board

24 x 20 ins (60.96 x 50.80 cms)

Price: £3,950.00

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Ben Kelly - To The Beach

Ben Kelly

To The Beach

Oil on canvas

40 x 30 ins (101.60 x 76.20 cms)

Price: £8,750.00

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Ben Kelly - A Storm Over The Irwell

Oil on Board

24 x 24 ins (60.96 x 60.96 cms)

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Ben Kelly - Fishermen, South Shields

Oil on canvas

18.5 x 22 ins (46.99 x 55.88 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - Flying Santa

Ben Kelly

Flying Santa

Oil on canvas

12 x 12 ins (30.48 x 30.48 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - Morning Conversation , Fletcher Moss Park

Oil on canvas

16 x 20 ins (40.64 x 50.80 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - Park Blossoms

Ben Kelly

Park Blossoms

Oil on canvas

24 x 20 ins (60.96 x 50.80 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - The Abersoch Snowstorm

Oil on Canvas Board

24 x 18 ins (60.96 x 45.72 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - The Concert Central Park

Oil on artists board

24 x 20 ins (60.96 x 50.80 cms)

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Ben Kelly - The Lone Horseman

Ben Kelly

The Lone Horseman

Oil on Board

25 x 30 ins (63.50 x 76.20 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - The New Year's Day Walk

Oil on Canvasboard

20 x 24 ins (50.80 x 60.96 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - The Secret  Cove

Ben Kelly

The Secret Cove

Oil on canvas

40 x 48 ins (101.60 x 121.92 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - The Snow Ball

Ben Kelly

The Snow Ball

Oil on Board

16 x 12 ins (40.64 x 30.48 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - The Truffle Hunters

Oil on canvas

48 x 38 ins (121.92 x 96.52 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - The Winter Wood

Ben Kelly

The Winter Wood

Oil on canvas

16 x 20 ins (40.64 x 50.80 cms)

Sold Sold

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Ben Kelly - Two Friends, Stamford Park

Oil on Canvas Board

18 x 14 ins (45.72 x 35.56 cms)

Sold Sold

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Featured Artist

LUCI MANFREDI

This is a selection of works we have for sale by Luci Manfredi, an artist new to the gallery.

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155, Ashley Road, Hale
Cheshire, WA14 2UW

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