Ben Venom received a Bachelor of Fine Art degree from Georgia State University, a Post Baccalaureate Certificate with an emphasis in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute and a Master of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. His unique artistic practice combines the traditional process of quilting with the robust graphics of heavy metal and punk bands. In 2006 the De Young Museum exhibited the Quilts of Gees Bend and Venom was inspired. At the San Francisco Art Institute he was making large flags and banners with elements of screen printing, so the next logical step was to construct a quilt. Venom cuts the graphics out of t-shirts from bands like the Misfits, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Poison and others, and then weaves them into intricate patterns onto quilts. Venom’s pillows, quilts and embroidery simultaneously mock and pay tribute to the encounter between two seemingly opposing forces. His interest in bringing together traditional handmade craft and the extremes of Heavy Metal culture is not an attempt to organize chaos into conservatism, but to provide a reinterpretation through a different medium
Past Exhibitions
