hallucination dream sequence, 2017 from Benjamin Gardner on Vimeo.
Getting the band back together…
Back in my undergrad days at Wright State I fell in with a group of enthusiastic and energetic art makers. These folks were the ones rolling stones and wiping plates at 2AM, blasting Bad Brains records and taking frequent smoke breaks. I most likely wouldn’t have finished out my BFA had I not met these people at the time I did… their print-shop charisma was contagious.
Through happenstance these fine fellas and I have all found ourselves back in Dayton after years apart riding the tides of graduate studies, residencies, domesticity and random Kerouacian adventures. We are all teaching art between various institutions in the area and finally carved out time to get the band back together for a 2006 era, PMHC monoprint session. Hosted by Tyler Peffley and Ryan McCullough at Stiver School for the Arts in East Dayton, featuring myself and Frank (ie four-fingers) Travers. Good time had by all, here’s what I ended up with…
Art for Beer? Updates forthcoming …
So a few months back I helped one Max Spang set up a trade for some rare and hard-to-find beers from The Bruery. I am not unfamiliar with doing art trades and print exchanges, so this was something not to pass up. The Bruery makes excellent, sophisticated beers… Beer not for the timid. Max filmed and edited this video documenting the process:
Also; some final images of my Kala work should be up soon — I am still getting everything mounted and signed… I am also working on some prints for the upcoming Mid America Print Council Conference in Missouri (two separate portfolios), so needless to say, the studio is busy.
If you’re in Iowa, I have a solo exhibition of prints up at Southeastern Community College in W. Burlington, Iowa. Also I have some paintings at the Great Frame Up in Longmont, CO. Daytonians will happy to know I am showing the International Print Exchange (A Funky Space Reincarnation) at Ohio Gold on Sept 1st.
Studio Break & SMDLR Blog Interviews
Today I had the pleasure of sitting down, through the magic of the internet, with painter and conversationalist David Linneweh. Besides making really interesting paintings of the built environment, David runs the Studio Break podcast where he invites artists to chat about their work. What follows is an hour long conversation where I discuss my background, work and upcoming residency at the Kala Artist Institute.
I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation, give it a listen.
Additionally, I was interviewed by Chermelle over at SMDLR.com a few weeks ago. This was also a really nice conversation and the result is a nice tidy little blog post about my show at Ghostlight Coffee
Kala / Kickstarter
From mid June to mid July I will be an artist in residence at the Kala Institute of Art in Berkeley, CA.
The plan is to make quite a few editions of lithographs and screenprints incorporating digital printing. For those feeling generous (or those wanting to pick up some artwork on the cheap) please visit my Kickstarter campaign page. The project is titled “Reclaimed Verses (Traveler),” and will be in direct response to the experience of traveling and making work in a new environment.
Check it out.
Also; for those in the Dayton area, stop by Ghostlight Coffee and take a look at “Basement Occupation,” a casual exhibition of works on paper by yours truly.
Current/Upcoming Shows
I currently have a show, “Reclaimed Verse,” viewable online at No Future Projects. No Future’s goal is “simply to showcase good work by good people. NFP resides in an online context, with periodic ventures into the real world.” It is a curatorial/exhibition project of Jeffrey Cortland Jones
“Reclaimed Verses,” a physical exhibition of this series of work will be on view at Edison College, in Piqua, Ohio April 1st through 29th.
Artist in Residence @ Dayton Printmakers Co-op
I have recently been offered an artist-in-residence opportunity at the Dayton Printmakers Cooperative. Part of this deal is that I will lead two workshops later in 2012 (assuming the world does not end). In summer a collage workshop will take place and in fall a additive/reductive stone lithography demo. The latter will be, more or less, an explanation of my specific approach to cranking out color layers with stones.
So far the studio has been quiet. I am still fumbling around trying to find things that I need (like rosin and talc), but in the meantime here is an in progress shot of a current print. Three color runs from the same stone… additive and reductive… accomplished in roughly 5 hours of work [small edition size].
New Collab starts
In an effort to put my money where my mouth is, I have made these quick works to begin a new collaboration with colleague and painter Jeffrey Cortland Jones.
These spare, square works on paper will get the ball rolling for what I hope will be a productive ‘call and response’ working method.
I admire the speed and quality of Jeff’s work and hope that we can find some interesting intersections for our work. Expect more meditative and minimal images in the near future…
“Currents” Exhibition @ UDayton
I have a new piece, Reclaimed Verse (12), sitting in good company at the Department of Visual Arts, UDayton Faculty show “Currents.”
Personal highlights of the exhibition for me are Jeffrey Jones’s group of thoughtful, meditative paintings on paper and Ryan Adrick’s most recent and mysterious, hybrid photograph sculpture.
The show runs through February 10th, 2nd floor (get a pass from the security desk) of the CPC in Dayton.
Studio update, 12/4/11
Narrow win by the Packers tonight… nervous energy in the studio…
New works in painting and collage are on their way to a logical finish:
L: Something to do with Ohio Gold Exhibitions, tentatively titled “Diminished Landscape On Display”
R: Something to do with Century Bar’s first Print Swap Meet, no title as of yet…
Table: 2 works on panel in progress, notebook of phrases
Thanks to my kindly and thrifty mother-in-law, I am now the proud owner of this Xerox copy machine (with two extra toner cartridges). This will help realize a series of zine-like artist books with xeroxed pages and hand printed covers/inserts as well as xerox-lithography for my students/self in the coming months.
A new mixed-media piece, Reclaimed Verse (1). This is a possible beginning to a new, on-going body of work…
Acrylic, digital and hand pulled prints, collaged on reclaimed artwork.