Exhibition running through Aug. 3 includes interactive workshops with the artist

(Macao, June 19, 2014) – The Venetian® Macao is hosting renowned American portrait painter Stephen Bennett for his Faces of Light Art Exhibition, which launched with an opening ceremony Thursday at the integrated resort. The free-admission exhibition runs 11 a.m-8 p.m. daily until Aug. 3, 2014, and marks the first Stephen Bennett exhibition in China.

Celebrating the human diversity of the world, the 38 small and large scale hand-painted portraits of people of different cultures from around the world, including China and Japan, are on display at this one-of-a-kind exhibition on Level 3 of The Venetian Macao, near the Venetian Ballroom. Highlights include portraits of Namibia's beloved actor N!xau from the film “The Gods Must Be Crazy;” Hollywood actress Sharon Stone; and renowned aboriginal didgeridoo maker Djalu Gurruwiwi. During the exhibition period, workshops will feature Bennett demonstrating his painting skills live and interacting with visual art students and children from local communities.

“This is my first time to Macao, and I've found it to be an incredibly unique city with a rich cultural history; I love seeing the diversity in the faces of the people here,” said Bennett. “It's a pleasure for me to be able to have my work exhibited at The Venetian and I hope people visiting the exhibition in Macao will find inspiration in these faces that I've captured from all over the world.”

“Providing opportunities for cultural enrichment is very important to Sands China; we want Macao's locals and visitors to enjoy a true diversity of integrated resort experiences,” said Olaf Gueldner, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Sands China Ltd. “Stephen Bennett is an incredibly talented artist, and his portraits give us a stirring look into the beauty and dignity inherent in the many different faces of the human race. Sands China is proud to have brought this important exhibition to Macao.”

Prior to Thursday's opening ceremony, Bennett gave a special portrait painting lesson to visual arts students from Macao Polytechnic Institute, offering tips and demonstrating techniques. It was a precious opportunity for Macao students to interact with and learn from the renowned artist.

Over the last two decades Bennett has travelled to over 30 countries, seeking out indigenous people to capture their soulful faces and ritual adornments through colourful paintings on a grand scale. Bennett's mission is to preserve and celebrate the world's diversity through a unique style of realism using interpretive colours with paints that he has hand-mixed from pure pigments. The focus of his paintings is on the eyes, which invite people to enter and experience their common humanity.

Bennett's work has been exhibited in private and national galleries in Tanzania, Brunei, Sarawak, Malaysia, Mexico, St. Martin, Panama, France, French Polynesia, the Seychelles and the United States. His work has been featured on three sets of United Nations postage stamps in 2009, 2010 and 2012, issued in three countries and three languages at the United Nations Headquarters offices in Austria, Switzerland and the U.S.

The international artist is also the founder of Faces of the World, Inc., an educational organisation aimed at teaching and inspiring children from all over the world to communicate through art. More information about Stephen Bennett and his work is available at www.theportraitpainter.com.

APPENDIX

Stephen Bennett – Artist Profile

Stephen Bennett is an American portrait painter who over the last two decades has travelled to over 30 countries, seeking out indigenous people to capture their soulful faces and ritual adornments through colourful paintings on a grand scale, many being 7 x 5 feet.

Bennett was called the “class artist” in school since first grade and by 16 he was drawing and painting portraits of family and friends. He attended Schenectady Community College, Russell Sage College and State University of New York at New Paltz, taking as many fine arts classes as possible. In 1991 he discovered his passion for faces during his first trip abroad to Japan. After spending eight months in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula painting 30 watercolour portraits, his fate as a portrait artist was sealed.

Bennett's mission is to preserve and celebrate the world's diversity through a unique style of realism using interpretive colours with paints that he hand-mixes from pure pigments. The focus of his paintings is on the eyes, inviting people to enter and experience their common humanity.

Bennett's goal is to paint 1,000 portraits to be exhibited worldwide. Young, old, joyful and withered faces populate his vibrant canvases, celebrating a variety of ethnic strains. His work has been exhibited in private and national galleries in Tanzania, Brunei, Sarawak, Malaysia, Mexico, St. Martin, Panama, France, French Polynesia, the Seychelles and the United States. His portraits were also featured on three sets of United Nations postage stamps in 2009, 2010 and 2012, issued in three countries and three languages at the United Nations Headquarters offices in Austria, Switzerland and the U.S.

The international artist is also the founder of Faces of the World, Inc., an educational organisation aimed at teaching and inspiring children from all over the world to communicate through art. For more information on the organization, visit www.facesoftheworld.net.