Artist statement

Whether a small room or a vast city, space is redefined from moment to moment. Inhabitants come and go, leaving their mark and altering their surroundings in a never-ending cycle. This is particularly evident in larger urban environments, where the populations, landscapes and economic conditions are constantly evolving.

I am fascinated not only with the evolution of spaces, but also with conveying that evolution on a two-dimensional surface. I’ve been particularly focused on the impact of time and change on a given space.

I begin with impressions of a space and apply a constructive process that adds a sense of past and future. Layering and mark-making are used to explore the dynamics of history and vitality, expansion and growth, and action and change. Combining and splicing source images allows for the representation of multiple views or subjects simultaneously. Manipulation, collage and varied states of completion create a sense of impermanence and further convey the passage of time.

With this process, I hope to convey spaces as the alive, active subjects they are.

Ben Schwab grew up in the Midwest and currently lives and works in upstate New York. He earned his MFA in Painting from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Ben’s work has been featured in gallery and university exhibitions throughout the United States and Canada. His work is in the permanent collections of PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Barkan Companies, Sheraton (Denver), Hub50House, Brandywine Realty Trust, Courier Corporation, TMA Systems, The Windsor Companies, and Hancock Whitney Bank. ​

Ben has long been fascinated with the dynamics of cities, which allow him to simultaneously observe decay and vitality, expansion and contraction, and history and impermanence. He uses layering and mark-making to explore these themes, and by combining and manipulating images, he captures multiple views and introduces a sense of abstraction. The result is a place that is both familiar and unfamiliar, blurring the lines between “here” and “there” and creating an experience that is unique for each viewer.

He is the recipient of awards including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant; Jacob K. Javits Fellowship; Vermont Studio Center Residency Fellowship; New York Foundation for the Arts Strategic Opportunity Stipend; and the Career Development Program Fellowship from The Center for Emerging Visual Artists; among others.

Ben Schwab’s solo show will be September 2024 at the George Billis Gallery in NYC. The exhibition will feature both paintings on canvas and also original works on paper.