Ben Piwowar

Detail view from installation completed for the 2017 Trawick Prize exhibition

I had the honor of being a finalist for the 2017 Trawick Prize (an annual juried prize that recognizes artists in the MD-DC-VA region), and I was given the opportunity to create an all-new improvised piece for the finalists’ exhibition in Bethesda. Since it was installed next to floor-to-ceiling windows, the constantly changing light was a major challenge while working and an integral feature of the completed piece. The transition from direct afternoon sun to soft gallery lighting also made this piece uniquely difficult to document.

(This was embedded in the Against Weather, an immersive site-responsive installation I created for VisArt Rockville’s Common Ground Gallery. While it was originally shown in the context of a larger network of object/drawing- relationships, I consider it an autonomous piece independent of Against Weather.)

This was originally shown as part of the Against Weather installation at VisArts Rockville (see preceding posts), but I regard it as a stand-alone piece that could be shown in other contexts.

More details of my solo installation show at VisArts. See previous posts for context.

Solo show of site-responsive constructions installed at VisArts Rockville

Video walk-through of Against Weather, a solo exhibition of new installation work on view at VisArts at Rockville until February 14, 2016. (Video credit: Frank McCauley)

Skitter Index 2015 Objects, paint, drawing Detail views of Skitter Index, a site-responsive installation of studio ephemera, modified salvaged lumber, and wall painting completed for the 2015 Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize Semifinalists exhibition.

Skitter Index 2015 Objects, paint, drawing Site-responsive installation of studio ephemera, modified salvaged lumber, and wall painting completed for the 2015 Janet and Walter Sondheim Prize Semifinalists exhibition.

Nesting Studies (#3) 2015 Wood, cable, fabric, nails, paint, tape

Nesting Studies (#2) 2015 Wood, sheetrock, drawing fragments, wall painting, other stuff

Nesting Studies (#4) 2015 Wire cage remnant, paint

Funny Once 2014 Paint on cardboard with plastic mesh remnant, colored pencil on wall, thumbtack

Beacon 2014 Plastic twine, decorative tape, wall painting

This is a revision of a sculpture originally shown in 2011. The front of the standing sculptural element is suspended by a fabric rope which extends to the ceiling of the gallery, which becomes a drawing element in the space and expands the scale of the piece.

Detail views of installation at McDaniel College’s Rice Gallery in Westminster, MD, built around one of the gallery’s modular moveable wall segments.

“ML” (Winning Temperament/Mind of Winter) 2014 Salvaged wood element, drawing fragment, paint