With striking pop-art inspired designs and a clear flair for the quirky, Benjamin Russo is showing the world that art doesn’t have to be all oil paints and gesso – in fact, it can be created with the unlikeliest of mediums.
His innovative use of Rubik’s Cubes as a composition material to create large mural installations is the perfect fusion of retro and modern art – eye-catching and colourful, it’s proven pretty popular on Instagram and it’s and now it’s caught the attention of the sporting community, too.
His latest piece is a huge installation titled ‘Round 2’; constructed from over 2,500 Rubik’s Cubes and featuring the logos of the two teams set to face off in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs later this month, the Montreal Canadiens and the Winnipeg Jets. It displays in pixelated detail each club’s iconic logo, and it’s his biggest piece to date – completing it took him only two days, too.
Benjamin is becoming quite well-known in the online art sphere for what he calls his ‘cube art’, and one of his previous works – a mural portraying the legendary wrester John Cena – even attracted attention from the WWE superstar himself. He’s also created murals of Drake, Dwayne Johnson and the inimitable SpongeBob SquarePants, all rendered in six-colour glory. It’s an impressive CV for anybody dipping a toe in the art world, but it’s even more impressive when we consider that Benjamin is only 10 years old.
Something even more amazing is that Benjamin has got dyslexia, and he’s been using his publicity and his online platform to raise awareness of dyslexia and literacy differences. He attributes his artistic ability to it, too. Speaking in a YouTube Video where he shows off his iconic John Cena piece, he’s very open about his struggles. He says that “I mix my words up. I get very frustrated and upset too sometimes. But having dyslexia also means that I can do something amazing! Like this…”
Benjamin is following in the footsteps of a number of world-renowned artists with dyslexia – from Da Vinci and Auguste Rodin to the father of Pop Art himself, Andy Warhol, many famous artists seem to have struggled with their reading and writing skills. There does appear to be a link between dyslexia and creativity, with people who have dyslexia often being more likely to think outside the box and find new innovations, whether it’s in the business world or in front of the easel.
You can check out more famous artists with dyslexia at our very own Succeed With Dyslexia Blog, and you can stay up to date with all of Benjamin’s creations at his Instagram, @benjaminrussocubeart.