STEPHEN BENNETT, INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED PORTRAIT PAINTER BRINGS GLOBAL CULTURE AND KINSHIP TO THE CANVAS AT THE CONDE NAST BUILDING FROM BROOKLYN TO BRUNEI AND BACK AGAIN May 1, 2008 - After two years of traveling through the South Pacific Stephen Bennett returns to New York City to debut his most recent exhibition ’KINSHIP’ at the Conde Nast building in Times Square. This Brooklyn based artist, who, has certainly made a name for himself in places like Australia, Africa and French Polynesia. His international influence is evident by the vibrancy in his portraits, which will be on exhibit from May 1 to June 12 at 4 Times Square in the Conde Nast building in the heart of Manhattan. His subjects are the embodiment of his desire to reaffirm cultural pride amongst indigenous peoples who are all too often pushed to the fringes of modern society. His intuitive use of colour reflects the beauty of difference to New Yorkers and visitors alike in one of the busiest centers of the world. The exhibit, aptly named ‘KINSHIP’, will give an insight into Stephen’s artistic process, how he translates local customs, languages and livelihood of its people into a celebration of diversity, dignity and vitality of human differences. “I have traveled to more than 20 countries in the last 15 years painting portraits of traditional and endemic people using as much vibrancy and color as it takes to capture each of their personalities on my canvasses”. Having settled in Brooklyn 15 years ago, Bennett discovered that without the pressures and expense of living in Manhattan, the affordable rents and large sun drenched lofts gave him a new platform to launch his creativity and realize his dream to complete an international exhibition of 1000 hand painted portraits. This location also gave him the financial resources to travel the world in pursuit of his subjects. If New York has had any influence on his current works and his future endeavors, this talented and ambitious artist has used his small town charm to captivate a global audience. Background: Stephen Bennett grew up with a tradition of art in his family in Upstate New York, received formal training in Fine Art Studies at New Paltz and has since transformed a passion for the peoples of the world into a highly successful professional enterprise. Since 1991, he has traveled around the world twice, been featured in over two dozen exhibits and various international publications. When Stephen is not traveling, he can be found in his Bedford and South 1st Street gallery, Elliman, in Brooklyn, NY