What role does experimentation play in your artistic development?
I was once told I’m not happy unless I’m slightly uncomfortable, I think that applies to my artistic life as well. My practice is about gesture and energy, and I flourish with the kind of spontaneity that can only be found while not entirely sure what the next step is going to be. It’s a constant dialogue and collaboration with the materials, and each piece is a surprise. Sometimes it’s not always a pleasant surprise but that’s the price one pays in the business of experimentation.
What painting might people be surprised to find you adore?
Lisa Frank and Bob Ross
You’re organizing a dinner party. Which three artists, dead or alive, do you invite?
Sandro Botticelli, an iconic Medici party boy, Patti Smith, because the night belongs to us, and my friend Jane because I get anxious
What's happening in your studio right now?
I’m about to take a workshop on encaustic (see previous question about experimentation, as well as just getting into monotype. I’m working on deepening the abstraction aspect of my practice while still maintaining the representational symbols that I started with. I’m also beginning a project that includes written fiction prose poetry accompanied by a painting series that explores the way acquiring knowledge shapes the world around us. Inspired by the Homeric term “Wine dark” which was used in lieu of blue to describe the sea because language had not developed to that point yet. I’m not entirely sure where this is going but as with everything I do the idea is a collaboration with the materials and the subject develops as the content is revealed.
If your artwork could talk, what do you think it would say about you?
He needs more professional help than he is currently getting.
If your artwork had a soundtrack, what songs would be on it?
Phillip Glass’s The Hours soundtrack—I am obsessed with it. Iamamiwhoami and Ionalee’s “Thunder Lightning,” Björk’s “Crystalline,” and Grimes’s controversial “Violence (Rave Edition).”
How does your cultural background or personal experiences influence your art?
I consider my cultural background to be that of a gay man and a former drug addict. My ancestor’s people like David Wojnarovicz or Jean Genet. Whether directly or not I am always interacting with my past when I make art. Either drawing from situational experience, exploring trauma, or struggling with the idea of hope, the energy and gesture in my work is born from a sensational connection with my body. Feelings and emotions manifest in the body and I use this vigorous energy to create compositions that then become moments of emotion and catharsis. It’s not always in the subject matter but “The body keeps the score” and my paintings are very much connected to my body and thus, that ever looming “score.”
Can you share a challenging moment in your artistic journey and how you overcame it?
My first year at the academy was cut short when I was faced with the decision between estrangement and homelessness or rehab. I stayed away for three months and came back home to get clean. It was a harrowing journey but I was filled with a drive to remain connected to my loved ones, and keep the dream of becoming an artist alive. I could not have done it without my support system, all the friends I have made in recovery, my family, my husband and even some faculty at the academy who championed my return.
Who are your favorite writers?
Jean Genet, Virginia Woolf, Haruki Murakami, and Michael Cunningham
Who are your favorite filmmakers?
Whoever is responsible for the cinematic masterpiece “Finding Nemo”
What is your social media account?
@benjamin.staker on Instagram
What is your website?
What city and country do you reside?
Brooklyn, NY
What year did you graduate from NYAA?
MFA 2024, Chubb Fellow 2025
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