Ben Stephenson

Ben Stephenson (London, 1990) is a British artist who explores the notions and misconceptions of the exotic, especially that which has been mythologized and romanticized through the canons of Eurocentric art history. It investigates the rituals and traditional narratives of Mesoamerican culture that describe human interaction with nature, as well as animist beliefs. Stephenson is interested in how these stories become living beings in themselves through oral tradition and figurative representation. He combines source images with observational drawings to create narrative paintings that reference folklore and myths, obtaining a kind of fantastical realism much like the mythologizing of the artists and cultures he pays homage to. He works with various media, such as painting, sculpture and engraving. He majored in painting at Wimbledon College of Arts (London) and graduated with a first class degree in 2014, followed by a scholarship at the Royal Drawing School (London). Some of Stephenson's most recent exhibitions include, 'Genesis in the retort' at the city museum in Querétaro, Mexico, 'Sustainable Art' at the Secret Gallery in Yucatan, Mexico and the 'Comrades' exhibition at The Koppel Project exchange. in London, where he was awarded the first prize by the Mexican embassy in London for his sculpture in July 2021.