Ben is an artist whose work draws on contemporary manifestations of mythology and systems of belief, with a focus on the crossover between adventure sports, luxury lifestyle pursuits, and color field painting. As a sailor and windsurfer, his practice is deeply rooted in his personal experiences. He sees abstraction as a transcendental experience, much like climbing a mountain or sailing in open water, and seeks to explore the possibilities of this form of expression.
Ben’s paintings combine the formal modes of Modernist Abstract Expressionism, color field painting, and Minimalism with the contemporary accents of extreme sports and fashion. He is particularly concerned with the materiality and process of painting, utilizing various techniques associated with craft and domestic arts, such as tie- dye, embroidery, and stencilling. His abstract works are the result of a digital process of rearranging and editing forms, with a focus on laying bare the space between the many layers that make up an otherwise two-dimensional painting.
