Artist Statement: A playful fine art version of the American flag. 50 hand-drawn stars formed into a circle covering the top and front of the piano. Each star is filled with each state's abbreviation and placed alphabetically. To create the effect of a flag waving in the wind; 3 shades of blue were used as base colors, 2 types of textured white paper hand cut into abstract shapes were placed throughout and the lyrics to the Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key were handwritten in red.
New York City artist Ben Hilario-Caguiat (pronounced he-lar-e-o-cag-e-yacht) is of Philippine descent and an unconventional printmaker, sculptor, muralist and mixed-media artist. Artistic his whole life, he moved into fine arts after years in the business world. Ben creates anime-inspired fine art under the TORNADi brand to create visual playgrounds for the mind and soul. Anime (Japanese film and television animation) covers a range of subjects and often cover multiple ideas, genres, highly memorable characters and storylines. He does his best to create work in the spirit of this borderless kinetic storytelling and beautiful renderings. Ben's art has exhibited at Christie's (Rockefeller Center) - Gallery 6, The National Arts Club, The International Print Center New York and The Highline Ballroom. His murals have been commissioned by the NYC Parks Department, First Street Green Art Park, Lower East Side Business Improvement District and NYC's Department of Small Business Services.
