Ben Long (British artist)
Ben Long (born Lancaster, UK, 1978) is a contemporary visual artist known for his interventions in the public realm.
He graduated from Camberwell College of Art in 2001 where he was taught by the British artist Darren Lago. Long's work has been associated with the Street Art and Urban Art movement which blossomed in cities such as London at the beginning of the 21st century [1].
He is perhaps best known for The Great Travelling Art Exhibition, a series of graffiti-style temporary drawings executed in the dirt that gathers on the shutters of haulage trucks. Long claims the purpose of this work is to appeal to "a large, diverse audience, with the bias towards those people who would ordinarily have little or no involvement with contemporary visual art."[2] Other significant bodies of work include Scaffolding Sculptures. In 2009 the Contemporary Art Society commissioned Horse Scaffolding Sculpture for the Economist Plaza in central London.[3]
In 2009 Long's Brass Bandstand was shortlisted for £500,000 Artists Taking The Lead art commission for the North West region of the UK.[4] The prize was eventually won by Anthony McCall for his Projected Column.[5]
Recent exhibitions of Long's work include Crown Jewels (2009), Art Work (2008) and Stag Scaffolding Sculpture (2008).
References
External links
- Essay by Sarah Shalgosky