Southwest Las Vegas artist uses abstract work to tell his stories

Art might be an enjoyable pastime for some, but for southwest resident Benjamin Pangilinan, art is a therapy that has healed him.

A native of the Philippines, Pangilinan said he came to the U.S. to find the financial security he could not attain in his homeland. In the 1980s, he said he worked as a successful stockbroker on Wall Street during a time period when there were few minorities in the industry. He worked 12 to 14 hours every day as a financial representative for a company formerly known as Anchor National Finance Service.

As time passed, he said the pressure began to take its toll. The then-New York resident said he had always appreciated art, and after visiting European art museums, he decided to take up painting as a hobby.

Art became therapy for the businessman, and on tough days, Pangilinan, who has his own finance company today, will wake up in the middle of night and paint his stress away.

He admits that painting is more enjoyable than his business work.

“It’s like you are doing mediation,” he said. “You are calm; you are by yourself. Everything that you had in mind you can express in a painting.”

After studying different styles of art, Pangilinan fixated on one — abstract. He said that unlike still life painting, abstract art leaves him with questions and interests his mind.

“My goal in everything I do in abstract is to challenge the viewer, move his senses and lift his spirits,” Pangilinan said.

In 2009, he decided to move to Las Vegas. As an artist, Pangilinan said he wanted to match his abstract painting with his environment and has made more pieces with erotic themes to relate to Sin City.

A handful of his works are displayed in his home gallery at 7745 Dean Martin Drive and are sold on Saatchi Art, an online gallery.

Pangilinan said it’s important to him that his painting involve bright colors to give his viewers a feeling of passivity and happiness.

Dennis Sutphin, an art consultant for Centaur Art Gallery, 4345 Dean Martin Drive, No. 200, said Pangilinan’s colors are what he likes most about the artwork.

Sutphin added that one thing that makes Pangilinan stand out as an emerging artist is that he is open to suggestions and recognizes that he still has more he can learn to hone in on his raw talent.

“He sets a high bar for himself,” Sutphin said. “When you are in art, that’s something that’s good.

Pangilinan’s artwork focuses on world events, the environment, entertainment, sports, business, politics, religion and sex. Some have short stories that accompany them. Because abstract art is a form of painting that is open to the interpretation of the viewer, Pangilinan said he wants to make sure there is a way that his viewers would know what his original meaning was behind each painting.

He said he hopes to publish a book in his career filled with his paintings and their corresponding stories.

Sutphin said that while Pangilinan still has a long way to go, it’s clear that he is passionate about art.

“It’s clear that he made his mark with his business, but when he even mention his art, he just really has a twinkle in his eye,” Sutphin said. “Art finds you; it speaks to you, and I think Ben’s pieces can really do that.”

For more information on Pangilinan’s paintings, email BenzAbstracts@gmail.com.