The Three Graces
Artist Statement:
Some of my deepest feelings have a hard time being articulated through words, so I create art. I hope that the viewer can sense what is most important to me when they see my work. Each piece is deeply personal, yet hopefully speaks with a universal language. I try to create images that are beautiful, uplifting, and relatable.
Although I am a representational artist, realism is always secondary to the composition and design of my work. I want whatever I create to be engaging visually, regardless of the subject matter.
About 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.
Ben’s sculptures have been included in many juried shows throughout the country, and he has been the recipient of numerous awards. In 2018 he won first place in sculpture, at the Portrait Society of America’s 20th Annual International Portrait Competition. In 2015, he was awarded the Gloria Medal and the Beverly Hoyt Robertson Memorial Award and in 2013, he received the Bronze Medal Award at the National Sculpture Society’s Annual Awards Exhibition. He received Best of Show Bronze for ten consecutive years (2010-2019) from SculptureWalk in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He won the People’s Choice and Purchase award in Eau Claire, Wisconsin’s annual Sculpture Tour. Ben was selected to compete in The National Competition for Figurative Sculpture where he was awarded the prestigious Charlotte Geffken prize in 2010 and 2011. For three consecutive years (2008-2010) he was awarded the Dexter Jones Award for his work in bas-relief from the National Sculpture Society.
Ben is also a talented portrait artist and since 2007 has completed over 35portrait busts for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. His works have found permanent homes in collections, both public and private, throughout the United States. He is currently sculpting an 8-foot statue of Martha Hughes Cannon for Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. In 2019 he unveiled a three-figure composition for a veteran’s memorial in Blackfoot, Idaho. In the fall of 2017 he completed an over-life-size monument with eight figures for the Utah Women’s Walk currently located at Thanksgiving Point Gardens in Lehi, Utah. From 2011-2015 he completed five large sculptures for the Healing Gardens of the Methodist Women’s Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska. Ben has taught sculpture workshops throughout the United State and is an elected Fellow of the National Sculpture Society and a Signature Member of the Portrait Society of America.