By using products from his daily routines— such as medications and cosmetics— as both subject and medium, Ben Weiner maps out a picture of himself as the sum of his habits. His large-scale paintings and drawings address contemporary culture’s obsession with bodily enhancement through chemical products, as well as post-Covid anxieties surrounding mortality and mental health. Weiner understands these issues well having grown up in a family of eccentric hippy medical professionals. In his works, Weiner experiments with materials and techniques from hyperrealism to chromatography– often using drugs themselves as his medium– all of which inform his creation of works that assert materialism’s relation to the personal.
Weiner studied painting under muralist José Lazcarro Toquero at La Universidad de las Americas (Mexico), before completing his BA at Wesleyan University (CT). His work has been exhibited widely within the US and internationally, at institutions including The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, The Tarble Art Center, The Carnegie Art Museum, ArtSpace, La Gruta (CDMX), and The Boca Raton Museum of Art. Weiner has been included in gallery exhibitions at 56 Henry, Ochi Gallery, Below Grand, Grey Area, Hunted Projects, Kristen Lorello Gallery, and Mark Moore Gallery. His work is represented in various public collections, including Microsoft, Sammlung, Progressive Insurance, and The Frederick R. Weisman Collection. He has been featured in publications including Artforum, Artnews, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, W Magazine, Interview Magazine, Artsy, and Vogue. Weiner lives and works in Queens, New York.
Photo curtesy of Jolene Cody
