benjamin june
artist resume
EDUCATION
2004 -B.F.A. in Ceramics, University of Washington, Seattle WA
-B.A. in Interdisciplinary Visual Arts, University of Washington, Seattle WA
-Minor in Art History, University of Washington, Seattle WA
EXHIBITIONS
2008 -"Infoporn," as part of Select Media Festival, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Chicao IL
-"Iraqi Suicide Attack Pillow Project: A Memorial," Solo Show, FLATFILE Galleries, Chicago IL
-"Present Tense," Basement Gallery, curated by T. Michael Martin, Knoxville TN
2007 -"Curator’s Choice Show" at the Chicago Art Open, Iron Studios, curated by
Sabina Ott, Karen Irvine & Linda Warren, Chicago IL (catalogue)
-"Portraits of Guns," Asrai Garden Boutique, Chicago IL
-"Wear your Art on your Sleeve," Trunk Show, FLATFILE Galleries, Chicago IL
-"Involving Violence," Lasso Gallery at the Butcher Shop, curated by Karen Patzke &
Carrie Ruckel, Chicago IL
-"Hand Harvested: Artists for a Greener Planet," Parkwest Gallery, Chicago IL
-"8 x 8 - 2-D Art Open", ARC Gallery, Chicago IL
-"Square Foot Show," Galaxie Gallery, Chicago IL
-"One of one: Prints like no other," Spudnik Press, curated by Angee Lennard, Chicago IL (catalogue)
-"Delineate," Black Walnut Gallery, curated by Betsy Treacy, Chicago IL
2006 -"Chicagoesque," Metropolis Coffeehouse, Chicago IL
2005 -"Estranged," Solo Show, Letizia’s Café & Wine Bar, Chicago IL
2004 -"Reconstructed Identity," Solo B.F.A. Thesis Show, Ceramic & Metal Arts Gallery, Seattle WA
-"B.F.A. 3," Jacob Lawrence Galley, Seattle WA
-"Show ‘n Tell," Ceramic & Metal Arts Gallery, Seattle WA
-"School of Art Open," Jacob Lawrence Galley, curated by Michael Sweney, Seattle WA
2003 -"Show ‘n Tell," Ceramic & Metal Arts Gallery, curated by Mandy Greer, Seattle WA
2000 -"Works on Paper," Jacob Lawrence Galley, Seattle WA
AWARDS
2008 -C.A.A.P. Grant, City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs, Chicago IL
- Special Assistance Grant, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago IL
2007 -"Featured Artist," Chicago Artist’s Month, City of Chicago, Deptrtment of Cultural
Affairs, Chicago IL
2004 -Deborah J. Haynes Scholarship for the Arts, Boulder CO
2003 -Deborah J. Haynes Scholarship for the Arts, Boulder CO
-Milnor Arts Scholarship, University of Washington, Seattle WA
PRESENTATIONS
2007 -Public Artist Talk, Pilsen Artist's Salon, Chicago Artist's Month, Chicago IL
2004 -Public Artist Talk, in conjunction with Reconstructed Identity, Ceramic & Metal Arts Building,
Seattle WA
2003 -Artist Source Presentation, Ceramic & Metal Arts Building, Seattle WA
REVIEWS, ARTICLES, PUBLICATIONS
2008 -Proximity Magazine, “Artist Portfolio,” Issue 2, pgs 158-159, September.
-Jason Foumberg, “Homespun Memorials,” NewCity Chicago, July 3.
-Justin Sondak, “Sleep won’t be so easy…,” Centerstage Chicago, June 30.
2007 -Kevin Nance, “Drawing Blood in Bridgeport,” Chicago Sun-Times, October 19.
-Chicago Artists Month Brochure, “Make a Connection,” pgs 18-19, October.
EXPIERENCE
2007-2008 -Owner/Operator of Backstitch Design, a hand embroidery company, Chicago IL
2007 -Studio Assistant to metalsmith Alisa Miller, "Crafts at the Castle," Boston MA
2005 -Studio Assistant to metalsmith Alisa Miller, "Art vs. Craft," Milwaukee WI
2004 -Studio Assistant to Drew Daly, Crossing, Henry Art Gallery and Ceramic & Metal Arts
Gallery, Seattle WA
2003 -Student Assistant to Arlene Shechet, Building, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle WA
-Mural Painter for University District Community Mural Project, Seattle WA
-Manuscript Editor for Art Lessons: Meditations on the Creative Life, by: Deborah J.
Haynes, Westview Press, Boulder CO
2002 -Studio Assistant to Debbie Reichard, Cascade, Henry Art Gallery, Seattle WA
2000-2001 -Marble/MARBLE XII and XIII, Marble carving symposiums, through University of Oregon,
in Marble CO
AFFILIATIONS
2006-2007 -Studio Member of Creative Claythings, Inc, Chicago IL
2005-2007 -Artist Member of the Chicago Artists’ Coalition, Chicago IL
2003-2004 -Board Member and Events Organizer, ZeeWare Student Artists Organization, Seattle WA
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
2007-Present -FLATFILE Galleries, Chicago IL
artist statements.
Iraq Suicide Attack Pillow Project: A Memorial
Click on text to read the Statement, it's long and needed it's own page!
Gun Embroideries, 2007
Guns scare me. They are inherently violent and aggressive objects that are used to take life away. They are also beautiful objects that make me curious. Guns reside in a space of awkward contradictions where they bring a sense of power for those who carry them and invoke fear in others, and are seen as sexy in movies but they kill in such a brutal way. I try to approach the subject of guns as objects and symbols to learn without judgment or criticism. I’m interested in the paradox that is created by the white on white embroidery with these antagonistic objects. This series deals with the strange balance between delicate and dangerous and speaks to the fragility of life.
Male Anatomy Embroidery, 2007
I’m interested in the symbolism of the male genitalia for masculinity. I think that the reproductive organs are fascinating for their complexity; and are aesthetically beautiful when broken down into their textbook diagrams. The process of hand embroidery is labor intensive and delicate. I feel through this process I understand my subject matter in a distinctive way. The contrast of my masculine subject matter and a traditionally feminine technique is exciting and seems to occur often in my work. These pieces are a metaphor for the fragility of masculinity.
Smokestacks, 2007
I am from green and beautiful Seattle and I was raised recycling. Now I live in Chicago where they only recently started a recycling program. Recycling is one way that I feel I can make a difference in our world of global warming, pollution and excessive waste. The materials utilized in this body of work are recycled from things that I have used; plastic grocery bags and newspapers. I think that they are a good medium to illustrate big polluting industrial plants. These smokestacks, factories and power plants are aesthetically beautiful to me, but at the same time, they horrify me with the harmful pollutants that billow out and the waste they excrete. I’m interested in the contrast of the delicate hand embroidery with the harsh materials, and that I used garbage to represent the polluting smokestacks.
-Thread Drawings, 2006 - Black Walnt Gallery (Delineate), Chicago IL &
-Metropolis Coffeehouse (Chicagoesque), Chicago IL
Chicago’s water towers used to serve the purpose of safety and protection. Now many people overlook or do not even notice their existence, deeming them obsolete. I am interested in these deteriorating, vandalized, or torn down relics.
I embroider these images to memorialize these water towers. With the use of black and white thread, I draw their ghost-like status in our city and allude to loneliness, disinterest, and the memory of things past.
-Estranged, 2005, Letizia's Cafe & Wine Bar, Chicago IL
Chicago is known for it architecture, but what interested me when I moved here, was not the famous skyscrapers, but the endless amount of simple brick buildings and their iron accessories.
The fire escapes, water towers and balconies are outdated and mostly unused. Now they only function as cosmetics for their buildings and are mostly over-looked. These formalistic studies, displayed without their buildings, allude to the very human emotions of loneliness, disinterest, and the memory of things past.
-Reconstructed Identity, 2004, Ceramic & Metal Arts Gallery, Seattle WA
My sculptures combine the concepts of violent confrontation, pathetic safety, intimate space and injured masculinity. I am interested in ordinary, symbolic elements from houses, guns and male genitalia. I fabricate specific found and used materials in attempt to make objects that have the ability to invoke emotions, associations and memories of time and loss.
