August 12 - November 26, 2023 | Coe Gallery

Working with repurposed materials to create textile-based works, some spanning 12 feet in length, Ben Venom contrasts the counterculture components of gangs, punk/metal music with the comforts of domesticity. This collision of traditional quilting techniques with elements tied to the fringes of society re-envisions the story of the material through a softer lens.

Venom sources his material (heavy metal band/pop culture t-shirts, bandanas, denim) from donations from friends, family and the public. The reclaimed fabrics contain a multitude of personal histories and everyone’s unexplained stain, tear, or rip is included. These salvaged pieces are sewn into a larger narrative and become a part of a collective history within the work.

Ben Venom graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2007 with a Master of Fine Arts degree. His work has been shown both nationally and internationally including the Levi Strauss Museum (Germany), National Folk Museum of Korea, HPGRP Gallery (Tokyo), Fort Wayne Museum, Charlotte Fogh Gallery (Denmark), Taubman Museum of Art, Gregg Museum of Art and Design, and the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. He has been interviewed by NPR: All Things Considered, Playboy, Juxtapoz Magazine, Maxim, and CBS Sunday Morning. Ben Venom is currently Visiting Faculty at the San Francisco Art Institute.