Benjamin Duke

Getting together on the X’s and O’s (detail), Oil on canvas, 48 x 93 in

In the land of Nod: Episode #1, Oil on canvas, 55 x 56 in

The Sailor's Wife, Oil on canvas, 27 x 29 in

Enjoyers of calm seas and storms of seas, Oil on canvas, 56 x 55 in

The Tea Shop Incident, Oil on canvas, 72 x 73.5 in

The Tea Shop Incident #2, Oil on canvas, 72 x 73.5 in

Chora and the Wolf, Oil on board, 21 x 22 in

Imaginary Portrait of Gavrilo Princip, Oil on canvas, 34 x 42 in

Chance Factor

March 8 – March 30, 2025

Chance Factor is a painting exhibition that bridges the monumental and the mundane, questioning how history lingers in the quiet, unassuming moments of daily life. The work explores themes of survival, complicity, and human folly, weaving together historical echoes with mundane contemporary experience. Drawing on Heidegger’s concept of “thrownness”—the idea that individuals are born into historical and cultural circumstances beyond their control—and Lefebvre’s critique of everyday life, the project examines how personal and collective histories shape our perceptions, often in ways we fail to recognize. At the heart of the exhibition is a tension between the past and present, where historical events are reimagined through surreal, theatrical compositions. Chance Factor highlights the ways in which historical forces are not just distant, grand narratives but are embedded in our daily lives, encouraging reflection on how we navigate time, identity, and the unseen forces that shape our existence.

Artist Statement

In my paintings, I explore the intersection of history, myth, and personal narrative, asking the question, “Is this the way the world is, or the way we imagine it to be?” My work draws upon a rich tapestry of historical events, literary references, and cultural symbols, reimagining them through a lens of imaginative realism. Each painting serves as a stage where characters—real and fictional—interact in a world that is both familiar and uncanny. Blurring the boundaries between fact and fiction, I seek to create a visual language that challenges conventional perceptions of reality and invites viewers to reconsider the stories we tell ourselves. An exploration of narrative complexity, where every image is a dense, layered composition that reflects the fragmented nature of memory and experience. Through this process, I aim to engage viewers in a dialogue about the fluidity of history and the power of imagination.

"Blood Blossom (detail)", 2025, Mixed media on wood panel, 20 x 32 in

"Conjure", 2025, Mixed media on wood panel, 8 x 24 in

"The Sanctum of a Bloom", 2025, Mixed media on wood panel, 24 in (diameter)

"Blood Blossom", 2025, Mixed media on wood panel, 20 x 32 in

"Root", 2025, Mixed media on wood panel, 48 x 24 in

"Of Her Own Making", 2025, Mixed media on canvas, 40 x 30 in

Cotton Flower

February 8 – March 2, 2025

The Cotton Flower series uses portraiture to center Black women in historical discourse surrounding enslaved resistance. In slave societies, power was constructed through the use of race and gender. Enslaved women were exploited not only for their labor but also for their capacity to sustain the workforce through childbirth. The persistent threat of sexualized violence and forced familial separation pushed some women to subvert reproduction by engaging in bold acts of resistance. On cotton plantations, in particular, some enslaved women chose to ingest cotton roots to prevent pregnancy and induce abortions. By asserting their bodily autonomy, these Black women insurgents directly challenged the slave economy. In an effort to reconcile with and transform the profound pain of this history into power, the Cotton Flower series re-envisions cotton plants as symbols of gendered resistance—instruments powerfully wielded by enslaved Black women to circumvent systems of oppression and fight for selfhood. 

Artist Statement

I view collage art as emblematic of the interconnectedness of the African diaspora. Just as the dispersed people of the Diaspora are tied together by the thread of ancestry, in collage disjointed pieces are fused to communicate one story. Despite the horrors of the Transatlantic crossing and enslavement, Black people chose to survive—weaving together fragments of their diverse identities to form new cultures in the Americas. I use collage as a tool to mirror these historical processes in her artistic practice. Drawing from imagery of people from across the African Diaspora, I deconstruct and resignify disparate parts to communicate experiences and historical narratives. My works serve as visual records of Black protagonism, using the “Black Gaze” as an instrument to amplify the agency of the Black figure. Rather than subjects to be viewed and consumed, my figures look defiantly out onto the world—engaging, confronting, and challenging the viewer.

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"Gate Keepers", 2025, Earthenware, gold luster, found objects and fabrics, and Ghana- must-go bags Cone 6-Electric, Dimension varies

"Gate Keepers" (Detail), 2025, Earthenware, gold luster, found objects and fabrics, and Ghana- must-go bags Cone 6-Electric, Dimension varies

"It feels like a maze", 2024, Earthenware, Glaze, and Ghana must go bags Cone 6-Electric, 15 x 10 x 11 in

"We Are", 2025, Plaster of Paris, gold luster and earthware, Cone 6-Electric, Dimension varies

Duality

February 8 – March 2, 2025

Duality presents the work of Ghanaian artist Teddy Osei, which offers a thoughtful examination of the intersection between traditional Ghanaian art forms and Western contemporary practices, including ceramic sculptural forms and found objects. Osei’s work also examines the evolution of his Ghanaian cultural roots, showcasing how it has transformed and found new meaning within contemporary art while preserving its cultural significance. 

This exhibition engages with themes of cultural heritage, identity, and the complexities of the diaspora experience. The pieces on display invite viewers to engage with layered narratives that explore the fluid nature of identity and belonging. By drawing on personal and collective histories, Osei creates a dialogue that resonates beyond borders, encouraging a deeper understanding of the cultural connections that shape us. Duality serves as a meeting point for reflection, conversation, and discovery, where the past and present coexist to inspire new perspectives on art and culture.

Artist Statement

My work delves into the quiet yet profound forces that shape identity, belonging, and the stories we craft to navigate our lives. Clay is my starting point. Its responsiveness and memory of every touch resonates deeply with me, carrying history while holding space for reinvention. I pair it with materials like fabrics and found objects, each with its own history, to create ceramic sculptures and installations that embody the tension of identity in flux.

At its core, my work is about belonging, what it means to find it, lose it, and reshape it. I reflect on the boundaries we face, whether they’re drawn by geography, culture, or our own choices, and how they shape who we are. Each piece I create carries a piece of my story, but it’s also an invitation for others to see their own experiences. I want people to feel the pull of memory, the beauty in imperfections, and the richness of life where different cultures and identities come together.

Jude Griebel, “Revenant,” installation. 2025.

"Revenant: Prawn", 2023, Wood, air-drying clays, bio-resin, adhesives, acrylic, 36 x 28 x 10 in

"Shucked", 2024, Cast aluminum (Ed. 3 of 4), 23 x 9 x 9 in

"Revenant: Steamed Clam", 2023, Wood, air-drying clays, bio-resin, acrylic, 12.25 x 10 x 4.75 in

"Final Swim", 2024, Acrylic on Yupo paper, 12 x 9 in

"Revenant: Scallop", 2024, Wood, air-drying clays, bio-resin, adhesives, acrylic, 67 x 42 x 25.5 in

Revenants 

February 8 – March 2, 2025

Revenants presents a series of sculptures and drawings that explore our relationship to the animals we consume and how they are perceived within the popular psyche. The work draws on animated foods from popular culture and history to reflect on contemporary consumer culture, erasure of living identity, and interspecies dependence.

Revenants highlights the distance we create as a species when consuming other beings. Through packaging, marketing, processing, and preparation, corporeal transformations are engineered to appease our sympathies and comfort levels, as well as our palates and budgets. In these sculptures, I aim to subvert this sense of transformation inherent in meat preparation to re-empower bodies as fantastic revenants, reinvested with agency and possibility. Standing in their cooked and prepared states, these hybrid bodies demand a sense of reckoning. At once tragic and sympathetic, these sculptures operate within the emotional landscape of consumption that is suppressed by the corporate food industry. 

Artist Statement

I create detailed figurative sculptures and drawings that visualize our entanglement with the surrounding world. In my works, landscapes, the species we affect, and the waste we create, coalesce in vivid forms that illustrate the reach of our impact and consumption habits. 

Recently, my work has focused on species affected by industrial development and human consumption habits, including plant and insect species that are commonly exterminated, and species living within the confines of laboratories and the factory food system. In my sculptures these species are empowered as fantastic hybrid beings, often magnified in scale and detail, looming above the viewer.  

The creation of my sculptures involves myriad materials including carved woods, clays, bio-resins and papier-mâché. The careful hand crafting and painting of each detail heightens the sense of illusion in the work while countering its central themes of hyperactive consumption and development. 

"9 Block Star Quilt", 2022, Excavated screenprint mounted on wood 9.5 x 9.5 x 1 in (each)

"9 Block Star Quilt", 2022, Excavated screenprint mounted on wood 9.5 x 9.5 x 1 in

"Elemental", 2024, Rye straw and thread, 37 x 47 x 6 in

"Folding Rhythms", 2024, Excavated screenprint mounted on wood and dibond, 30 x 35.5 x 1 in

"Folded Sequence: Stacked", 2023, Screenprint on paper, 31.5 x 31.5 in

"Zygi's Blanket", 2024, Folded vellum mounted on dibond, 30 x 39 in

Where Are You Really From? An Inquiry into Generational Identity

January 4- February 2, 2025

Where are you really from? What connects you to a place, a culture, an ancestor? 

I am a first-generation American of parents from disparate worlds. What is my relationship to this country? What do I claim from my ancestors? What do I hold on to, and what do I pass down to my children? 

In this exhibition, I investigate these questions through the language of geometry. Quilting patterns, meaningful geometric shapes, my grandfather’s paper-folding games, and traditional Polish craft materials, all help me actively bridge my family’s layered identities.