Benjamin Gardner

Abstract painter Benjamin Gardner paints and draws as a way to navigate through layers of relationships in meaning that exist in everyday life. He believes we encounter abstraction every day in ways that are more easily understood when expressed as images.

Born in Northern Illinois, Gardner received his MFA from Illinois State University in 2005 and his BFA from Millikin University in 2001. He has shown extensively throughout the United States, including recent solo exhibitions at Box 13 Artspace in Houston, Texas and DEMO Project in Springfield, Illinois.  In addition to his active studio practice, he runs a small urban garden with his wife, Amy, called Wrenwood Farm and is an avid woodworker. He currently teaches drawing at Drake University and resides in Des Moines, Iowa.