For this artist, New York City is the only canvas big enough.<\/p>\n
When Benny Cruz picked up a paintbrush for the first time, he had no idea that his art would catapult him to the highest heights of social media.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to be a painter, until I reached a point where I wasn\u2019t going anywhere with my art,\u201d the Swedish-born artist, 49, told The Post.<\/p>\n
Artist Benny Cruz has found his rightful place in the New York City art scene. Courtesy @johnjohnsonphoto<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was tough. Then and there, I started painting for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cruz, also known as \u201cYour Local Benny\u201d on his social media<\/a>, discovered only later in life that his work spoke to millions \u2014 many of them New Yorkers.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw that a lot of people who followed me were from New York, and they started buying my art,\u201d he said of his popular subway collection, pieces that sell for hundreds to thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n One of Cruz\u2019s window displays in NYC reads, \u201cNew York is a [love] story worth telling.\u201d Courtesy @johnjohnsonphoto<\/p>\n The Brooklyn artist works with text-based art using acrylics and markers on sustainable paper. Courtesy @johnjohnsonphoto<\/p>\n \u201cSo to think I felt I was going nowhere with my work, to now is a big difference. I started to get more and more relevant. I felt total darkness before, and New Yorkers brought the light.\u201d<\/p>\n The Brooklyn-based artist, who currently divides his time between New York and Sweden, where his family resides, experienced a boon to his career after picking up MTA subway maps and experimenting with text work over them.<\/p>\n Cruz, who uses acrylics and markers on sustainable paper, has gained notice for his Manhattan street art in recent months.<\/p>\n The pieces, spotted on subway cars across the Big Apple, soon reached every corner of social media, with many gathering thousands of likes<\/a>, as well as New Yorkers \u2014 past, present and future \u2014 liking, sharing and posting his work.<\/p>\n \u2018I felt total darkness before, and New Yorkers brought the light.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cWith New York, I feel an enormous sense of gratitude,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to express my emotions, so I thought about the most symbolic aspect of the city: the subway. The subway connects every part of New York. From there, I found the map and started to make my art.\u201d<\/p>\n The prolific pieces soon racked up thousands of impressions on social media, making Cruz synonymous with subway-inspired artwork now woven into the city\u2019s fabric.<\/p>\n \u201cThese went completely viral because a lot of people, even people that live in New York, embraced it. And that\u2019s a huge scale of people. It\u2019s powerful, and there is emotion behind it. And I think that\u2019s the reason people resonate with my art,\u201d added Cruz, who boasts 40,000 Instagram<\/a> followers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe truck was the perfect canvas for me. I had been spotting this structure for a long time and finally asked for a permit from its owner,\u201d Cruz told The Post. Courtesy @johnjohnsonphoto<\/p>\n Cruz, 49, garnered global recognition for his Manhattan street art in recent months. Courtesy @johnjohnsonphoto<\/p>\n Cruz, who was once an apprentice under the late Chilean artist Alfredo Mosella, said he\u2019s finally found an artistic purpose.<\/p>\n \u201cWith text, I found home. It\u2019s the most simple but most complex way to express my emotions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u2018I wasn\u2019t going to have a future with my art, but New York changed everything.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n After obtaining a permit to write on a \u201cperfect\u201d blank canvas \u2014 in the form of a truck parked outside 14th Street<\/a> \u2014 Cruz crafted a message to New Yorkers who pass the stationed vehicle on their everyday commute.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m aiming so high I keep forgetting I\u2019m already living my dream,\u201d reads text emblazoned on the truck, an Instagrammable backdrop for passersby.<\/p>\n The artist experienced a career boost after picking up MTA subway maps and experimenting with text over them. Instagram \/ @bennycruz<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to have a future with my art, but New York changed everything,\u201d he said. Courtesy @johnjohnsonphoto<\/p>\n\n
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