Ben DiNino
Ben DiNino is a book and collage artist who has lived in Minnesota for the last decade. He graduated from Tyler School of Art in 1996 with a BFA in Sculpture and a minor in Art History. At the time he was extremely jaded about the art world and didn’t pursue showing his work professionally. Over the next 20 years he continued to make art, trading with other artists, donating work for fundraisers, and generally giving it away. After attending the first Kolaj Fest in New Orleans in 2018 he decided to again become serious about his art practice. Since that time he has been in over 90 exhibitions internationally, has had work featured in a number of print and online publications, has posted a new work everyday on Instagram, and was awarded a public art grant by the city of Minneapolis. He lives in South Minneapolis with his partner and their two children.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In my work I strive to shed light on the overlooked or discarded; those items or places that are forgotten or slightly out of focus in the background. By highlighting their existence or reconfiguring them into something unique I hope to breathe new life into these neglected images and objects. The majority of my artistic practice recently has centered on collage. I endeavor to prolong the life of these outdated how-to manuals, old magazines, snap shots, slide film, and any other materials I‘m able to cut up and reassemble. This is also a challenge since I force myself to create something visually interesting or confusing out of what can at times be banal source material. This is what truly excites me when I work. Sitting down with old liquor advertisements or an interior design magazine and experimenting with the photographs in an attempt to push the limitations of the imagery.
Ben DiNino is a book and collage artist who has lived in Minnesota for the last decade. He graduated from Tyler School of Art in 1996 with a BFA in Sculpture and a minor in Art History. At the time he was extremely jaded about the art world and didn’t pursue showing his work professionally. Over the next 20 years he continued to make art, trading with other artists, donating work for fundraisers, and generally giving it away. After attending the first Kolaj Fest in New Orleans in 2018 he decided to again become serious about his art practice. Since that time he has been in over 90 exhibitions internationally, has had work featured in a number of print and online publications, has posted a new work everyday on Instagram, and was awarded a public art grant by the city of Minneapolis. He lives in South Minneapolis with his partner and their two children.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In my work I strive to shed light on the overlooked or discarded; those items or places that are forgotten or slightly out of focus in the background. By highlighting their existence or reconfiguring them into something unique I hope to breathe new life into these neglected images and objects. The majority of my artistic practice recently has centered on collage. I endeavor to prolong the life of these outdated how-to manuals, old magazines, snap shots, slide film, and any other materials I‘m able to cut up and reassemble. This is also a challenge since I force myself to create something visually interesting or confusing out of what can at times be banal source material. This is what truly excites me when I work. Sitting down with old liquor advertisements or an interior design magazine and experimenting with the photographs in an attempt to push the limitations of the imagery.
$280.00
Hand cut paper collage.
13.25x15.75x1"
This collage is part of a series entitled "Corporeal Folds". It is made from black and white nude photographs to create an abstracted object. Using the body as a starting point I hope to discover new perspectives and interpretations of our physical form.
$280.00
Hand cut paper collage.
13x16x1"
This collage is part of a series entitled "Corporeal Folds". It is made from black and white nude photographs to create an abstracted object. Using the body as a starting point I hope to discover new perspectives and interpretations of our physical form.
$280.00
Hand cut paper collage.
13x15x1"
This hand cut paper collage was created by deconstructing imagery from an interior design book. I rearranged the pieces of intricately arranged modernist furniture into a visual cacophony. I highlight line, form, color, and material in this imagined materialist totem.
$280.00
Hand cut paper collage.
11.25x21.75x1"
This collage is part of a series entitled "Corporeal Folds". It is made from black and white nude photographs to create an abstracted object. Using the body as a starting point I hope to discover new perspectives and interpretations of our physical form.
$280.00
Hand cut paper collage.
13.50x16x1"
This collage uses as source material a variety of vintage posed photos of fashion models and movie stars from the 1940s-60s. I love the colors, shadows, and the over the top set designs of these images and enjoy reassembling them into abstract compositions. I've created over 35 collages in this "Comp Posed" series.
$280.00
Hand cut paper collage.
13.50x16x1"
This collage uses as source material a variety of vintage posed photos of fashion models and movie stars from the 1940s-60s. I love the colors, shadows, and the over the top set designs of these images and enjoy reassembling them into abstract compositions. I've created over 35 collages in this "Comp Posed" series.