Ben K. Voss

Ben K. Voss approaches painting as a place to explore the unknown. Each painting—its palette, composition and form starts without a plan and is followed towards its ultimate materialization. This end point for Voss is a beginning to where the paintings take on a presence that leaves more questions than answers.

Ben K. Voss lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He has had solo exhibitions at Left Field in Los Osos, California; Gazebo in Brooklyn, NY and 57W57 Arts in NYC. Group exhibitions include Tappeto Volante, Brooklyn; Sperling, Germany; Tourist, Vermont; Peninsula Art Space, Brooklyn; George, Brooklyn; Fjord, Philadelphia; Wild Palms, Germany; and Monte Bianco Montagna Sacra, Italy. His paintings have been published in New American Paintings, Edition 140 and ArtMaze, Issue 13. A collaborative publication Imprints with artist Midge Wattles and publisher Chateau International was released in Sept 2020. 

Interview with Ben K. Voss

Questions by Emily Burns

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in becoming an artist? What were some early influences? Any stories that stand out in your mind?
I grew up in a small town called Sinking Spring in Pennsylvania. I don’t think there was ever a decision to become an artist it was something I always liked to do; something that came naturally. 

You reside in Greenpoint, Brooklyn—what was your path to living in the city? What keeps you there?
After art school I spent nearly six years at Anderson Ranch Art Center living and working there. Its where I met my wife and eventually we found ourselves in New York. Although Greenpoint is changing, it still is wonderful with its mixture of homes, industry, cafes and restaurants and most importantly its proximity to the water.

What is a typical day like? Do you keep a routine or fly by chance?
Every day is different and I try to paint every day. 

What gets you in a creative groove? What puts a damper on your energy?
You can’t beat painting in the morning with the window open.

Drawing is a big part of your practice. How do the small thumbnail sketches become paintings?
The sketches are something I do when I’m not in the studio. I don’t copy them to make paintings but use them to maintain a foot in the flow. I started the little books in September 2017 and have over a hundred.

Geometric shapes are present in your current paintings with a sometimes quilt-like quality. Are there any images that you look to for compositional reference?
Not really. My goal is to go into the studio with little to no plans or agenda. I work intuitively from my moods, the day, and the paintings. I challenge myself to listen, be open and to focus on following where each painting wants to go.

How has your past work informed what you are making now? How do you anticipate that your work will transform moving forward?
On one hand I feel like I’m on a spiraling road going deeper while on another I’m working within a constellation. Within the last two years I have been more fascinated with surface. I want the paintings to be revelatory and incomprehensible, to bring forth something unknown. 

Are there any contemporary artists you’re currently really excited about? Any favorite exhibitions you’ve seen recently?
There is an endless amount of artists I’m inspired by. Most recently I’ve connected with the work of Sam Pulitzer at 15 Orient, paintings by Lukas Quietzsch at Ramiken Crucible, and Em Rooney at Derosia. Addtionally I loved the films Memoria and Compartment No. 6 and the short story, Moses and Gaspar by Amparo Dávila.

I know that you travel consistently—and often make site specific drawings or incorporate the landscape in some way. How does travel mesh with the rest of your practice?
When I’m traveling I usually draw in my sketchbooks and/or make watercolors or depending where I am I may draw in the sand or snow.

Of all the places you've visited, which are the most fondly remembered or most influential to your work?
Cossyra.

For a long time you resisted the entanglement that is Instagram though you did ultimately join the platform. Since you have experienced both sides of the coin relatively recently, can you take us through some of the insights you took away from both mindsets? Has being tapped into social media changed your practice or your participation in exhibitions, etc?
Well I have made a good amount of wonderful connections via IG but ultimately I find it too powerful for me. 

Do you have any tips, tools, resources, or advice that someone has shared with you that you have found particularly helpful? 
I like this quote from Mary Ann Evans from the book Middlemarch— ‘If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel’s heartbeat and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence’.

What’s going on currently and what's up next for you?
Working on a new group of paintings.

Thanks for sharing your work with us Ben!

To find out more about Ben K. Voss check out his Instagram and website.