Shop Talk in the Underground Gallery: Benny Sanders

My current body of work was completed during my January printmaking residency at Cat Head Press on the Near East Side. The monotypes are made by quickly drawing on copper plates with an etching ink and run through an intaglio press. I used ancient greek busts as reference and they are drawn in a fervor to create abstract yet representational images.

My favorite podcast is “Artist Decoded” which is run by my friend, Yoshino, out in Los Angeles. My favorite interviews are from Nicolas Uribe, Alex Kanevsky and Vincent Desiderio. I enjoy learning the history of painterly thought and how it can be relayed in a technical narrative through the mind and hand of the artist.

–Benny Sanders

Benny studied printmaking with mentor, David Johnson (Muncie), from 2002-2006 and has since transitioned to a full time oil painter. He is a new addition to the Harrison Center underground collective of artists. Benny enjoys working in his studio as well as painting outside nearly every day en plein air.

Shop Talk is a show to celebrate the newly renovated underground and the artists that are adjacent to it. While not exclusively a trait of the artists that share the underground, I feel that those of us who have our studios close to each other have informal, informative conversations.

I asked everyone to write a little about themselves, and to share a favorite interview, book, or podcast that they feel is useful while they work in the studio. While I think it is important for artists to get in the zone and to deeply engage in our work, I think it’s also important to identify the voices that give us some sense of our location in contemporary practice. I find myself looking for substantive conversations. I’m also amazed by how I try to get someone’s idea out of my head! Regardless, I’m grateful for the casual interactions I have with my neighbors, as it keeps me sharp and gives me a place to find my own voice.

-Nathan Foxton, Curator

This is the second in a series of seven.