Ben Sanders at Carl & Sloan Contemporary

Artist: Ben Sanders

Exhibition title: Foreign & Domestic

Venue: Carl & Sloan Contemporary, Portland, US

Date: August 14 – September 6, 2015

Photography: images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Carl & Sloan Contemporary, Portland

Carl & Sloan Contemporary is pleased to present Foreign&Domestic, a solo exhibition by Los Angeles artist Ben Sanders.

The aesthetics of mass-produced consumables draw us all in. While we crave individuality, we unconsciously desire the shared experience and common history of globally branded imagery. This is the great magic trick of Late Capitalism. Our experiences feel unique despite the sameness of a globalized economy.

The red cups in a game of beer pong, the garish flowers at a funeral, the picnic table cloth or the paper plates of Summer. These ubiquitous and often ignored experiences buzz around the landscape of our lives. Sanders mixes them with a deep history of painterly mark-making and the doldrums of daily life. The high and low brow become unified beneath a wash of golden California light.

Thick, painterly blobs weigh down curlicue patterns arranged like perfectly placed garnishes on a culinary dish. Sanders pulls all these tricks from his hat to serve up a special experience made just for you, and you, and you, and you…

Ben Sanders is an artist from Los Angeles. He has exhibited at LVL3 Gallery in Chicago, Roger Blumenthal in New York, Slow Culture in LA, FIELD Contemporary in Vancouver, and the Marylhurst Art Gym in Portland. He holds a BFA from Art Center College of Design, 2013. In addition to his personal practice, he is a founding member of Those People and Happy Hour Agency, collectives based in L.A.