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), BUDDY Chicago, and EXPO Chicago.
When not making art, Ben works works for Chicago based gallery / online platofrm LVL3. See my freelance documentation work here.
benherbertart@gmail.com
CV
Archive
2019 - 2022 Selected Photographs
2022 Swan Song for Fluid Exchange
2021 Pup at the End of the World
2019 - 2021 Selected Sculptures
Selected Photographs
2019 - 2022
Fleeing
2021
20’’ x 30’’
Striving to Enter through the Narrow Gate
2022
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’’
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’’
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 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