Ben Herbert

Ben Herbert is a fine artist currently based in Chicago, IL who works primarily in the intersection of photography and sculpture; exploring themes of sexuality, the body, and queerness. Constructing intricate scenes made out of various printed cutouts, objects, and materials, Herbert creates compositions inherent to the medium of photography, with the end result image being reminiscent of paintings and drawings. Herbert holds a BFA in New Studio Practice: Fine Arts from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (2022). In 2021, Herbert was awarded the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Fellowship Fellowship through the Yale University School of Art. Herbert has also exhibited through the Green Gallery West (Milwaukee, WI), The Alice Wilds (Milwaukee, WI) the Tom of Finland Foundation (Los Angeles, CA), Well Well Projects (Portland, OR), and the CICA Museum (Gimpo, South Korea - *Upcoming*).

When not making art, Ben works as an independent curator and is a contributing editor for Chicago based gallery / online platofrm LVL3.

benherbertart[at]gmail[dot]com

Dowload CV

Swan Song for Fluid Exchange

₂₀₂₂
Existing in a state of simultaneous collapse and destruction, the staged photographs of Swan Song for Fluid Exchange cheekily share feelings related to queer identity, bodily functions, and desire. An anonymous behind becomes a fake mountain, a figure becomes christened under the moonlight, dripping grapes dangle above a sea of hunger, an abstracted body wakes up on the beach in the morning. Each photograph was made by constructing and arranging a variety of materials in front of the camera including printed cutouts, oil pastel, felt, zip ties, tape, and glue. Swan Song for Fluid Exchange encourages viewers to form new connections within themselves, their bodies, and how they see the world around them.

Holy Mountain
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{60’’ x 40’’}

Holy Mountain (Detail)
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{20’’ x 30’’}

Postcoital Sunrise (Obliteration)
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{60’’ x 40’’}
Puddle
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{60’’ x 40’’}
Feast
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{60’’ x 40’’}

Pup at the End of the World

₂₀₂₁

Drawing imagery from queer puppy play subcultures, Pup at the End of the World is a psuedo narrative photo series which follows a fictitious figure from the world ending around them to their subsequent rescue. Merging Catholic Apocalypse imagery and queer fetishism, Pup at the End of the World examines inner intimacy, masculinity, and the assertion of pleasure in the present day.

Pup at the End of the World (Burning Field)
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{20’’ x 30’’}

Pup at the End of the World (Ascension from Chaos)
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{20’’ x 30’’}

Pup at the End of the World (Flood)
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{20’’ x 30’’}
Pup at the End of the World (Embrace)
_{Archival Pigment Print}_{40’’ x 60’’}

Selected Photographs

_{2019 - 2022}

Fleeing
₂₀₂₁_{20’’ x 30’’}

Untitled (Three Fingers)
₂₀₂₂_{13’’ x 19’’}

Crossing Streams
₂₀₂₁_{20’’ x 30’’}

Bend
₂₀₂₁_{20’’ x 30’’}

Bouquet
₂₀₂₁_{20’’ x 30’’}

Untitled (Still Life with Sky)
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Stock Image Play Concept
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Pit
₂₀₂₁_{20’’ x 30’’}

Sprout (Part II)
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Sprout (Part I)
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Water in the Grass
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Fantasy Object
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Untitled (Trash)
₂₀₂₁_{20’’ x 30’’}

Pile of Dirt in Closet
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Flurry; Scatter
₂₀₂₀_{20’’ x 30’’}

Selected Sculptures

_{2019 - 2021}

Obelisk I
_{2021

Paper, foam board, clay}

Untitled
_{2021

Paper, tin foil, hot glue}

Bloom
₂₀₂₁_{Paper, fabric, foam board}

Untitled (Detritus)
₂₀₂₁_{Paper, foam board, tape}

Obelisk II
₂₀₂₁_{Paper, foam board}