Benjamin Edwards was born in 1970 in Iowa City, Iowa. He lives and works in Washington D.C.
Ben Edwards’ research is a continuous investigation of the dynamic relationship between progress and nature, attempting to understand their balance and laws. From this philosophy originates the shape of his imaginary cities, where the human figure has a marginal role and is only limited to a theory of portraits not easily identifiable.
In his artworks he portrays the balance and the laws that regulate the dystopia of the city of the future. Edwards’ pictorial production originates from his study of Thomas More’s Utopia, which leads the artist towards the theme of the imaginary city. Therefore, Edwards began to produce views of fragmented cities according to a chaotic and non-linear aesthetic. And it is namely from this background that his cities are formed: imaginary places of a technological future located in an interstice between physical and digital, reality and possibility, between mortality and immorality.
Edwards has employed many techniques over the years to further embrace the unexpected and allow it to harmoniously exist alongside that which might be different. At first he used a slide projector, shifting or layering images, to achieve unforeseen combinations of imagery, to then paint. In 2005, he took this process a step further and began using a JavaScript embedded HTML code in combination with a digital projector.
He exhibited in the USA, in Europe and in Asia. His works are in prestigious museum collections such as the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pa and the Museum of Modern Art, New York City, NY. Benjamin Edwards is part of the Aftermodernism artistic movement founded by the collector Hubert Neumann. In October 2020, he exhibited at Mucciaccia Contemporary in Rome in the Aftermodernism Chapter 2 Benjamin Edwards Tom Sanford show, curated by Cesare Biasini Selvaggi.
