Ben Rosenberg
This summer, a curator asked me for work that was “fun and kid friendly” for a solo show. My instinct was to squeeze out some paint and start painting toys that I’ve collected, which you can see here along with collages of my cat ‘Bunny’, who recently died. I used military photos from a recent yard sale and learned a new way to adhere assemblages to wood. There’s a certain flurry of spontaneous energy that happens when I start to piece together a collage from the sources I’m working with.
Life Before Wartime, photomontage on wood panel, 12" x 12", 2021
Lost at Sea, oil on wood panel, 9" x 12", 2021
Major Tom, photomontage on wood panel, 12" x 9", 2021
Manicure, photomontage, objects on wood panel, 12" x 12", 2021
Pietà, photomontage fabric, foam core on wood panel, 12" x 9", 2021
Strike a Pose, photomontage on wood panel, 12" x 9", 2021
The Bunny, oil on wood panel, 12" x 9", 2021
The Candidate, photomontage on wood panel, 12" x 12", 2021
The Nanny, photomontage on wood panel, 12" x 9", 2021
Toot Your Horn, photomontage on wood panel, 12" x 9", 2021
I grew up with a Sharpie in my hand drawing the street scenes of New York City. My parents were both artists and encouraged me to draw the world I saw around me. I've always been pulled to the unintended irony in life and try to capture that in my work. It's what lies underneath that lends humor and sometimes depth to a subject I’m after. I’m influenced by my surroundings, mass media, and politics. Animals show up often in my work sometimes behaving like people. I work primarily in drawing, painting, ceramics, and assemblages.
Lane Departure: a virtual, faculty biennial by Clark College art professors
