Ben Sewell – Glass Artist – Hand Blown Glass
Ben is a world renowned glassblower who has a strong connection with the Margaret River region of Western Australia having lived in the area for a number of years. His art making continues to be strongly influenced by the beauty of the coastline and bush. Ben’s glass objects with their soft edges and strong forms are distillations of the natural world. Ben has won many awards and has exhibited both nationally and internationally. His work is represented in collections such as State Collection Art Gallery of Western Australia, La Salle SIA College of the Arts, Singapore and Fort James Paper, Chicago USA.Ben is a world renowned glassblower who has a strong connection with the Margaret River region of Western Australia having lived in the area for a number of years. His art making continues to be strongly influenced by the beauty of the coastline and bush. Ben’s glass objects with their soft edges and strong forms are distillations of the natural world. Ben has won many awards and has exhibited both nationally and internationally. His work is represented in collections such as State Collection Art Gallery of Western Australia, La Salle SIA College of the Arts , Singapore and Fort James Paper, Chicago USA.
Artist Biography
- Born Esperance Western Australia 1972
- Bachelor of Visual Arts, Curtin University Western Australia 1996.
- Diploma of Visual Arts 1997, and Graduate Diploma 1999 at the National Institute of the Arts, Australian National University Canberra.
Awarded the Tom Malone Prize, Art Gallery of Western Australia in 2006 and the City of Perth Craft Award for Excellence in 2002, he is also a recipient of several Australia Council grants. Benjamin has taught university glass blowing programs in Sydney and Melbourne and has travelled across the world attending exhibitions and workshops. He has also given glassblowing demonstrations in the United States.
History with Margaret River
I have a history with Margaret River dating back to the early eighties when my family owned a property for a number of years on Caves Rd. Metricup. All of our family fell in love with the beauty of the coastline and bush. That love of the natural world has strongly influenced my art making and can be seen in the simplicity of my work.
That connection to the region has been maintained through surf trips to the region through my teens and on into my twenties when I lived in Margaret River for a year. With my sister establishing a family and living in Prevelly, that connection continues.
Curriculum Vitae – Benjamin Sewell
Education
1999 Graduate Diploma, National Institute of the Arts, Australian National University.
1997 Diploma of Visual Arts, National Institute of the Arts, A.N.U. Canberra.
1996 Bachelor of Visual Arts, Curtin University, Western Australia.
Awards
2006 Awarded the Tom Malone Prize, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
2002 Awarded the City of Perth Craft Award for Excellence, Western Australia.
1999 Pilchuck Glass Scholarship, Seattle USA.
1998 Absolute Au Kurant, Juried Invitational, SOFA, Chicago USA.
Grants
2007 New Work Development Grant, Visual Arts and Craft Board, Australia Council.
2006 Marketing Grant, National Association for Visual Artist’s, NSW.
2005 New Work Development Grant, Visual Arts and Crafts Board, Australia Council.
2002 Skills/Arts Development Grant, Visual Arts and Craft Board, Australia Council.
Collections
- State Collection Art Gallery of Western Australia, Tom Malone Acquisition, Perth.
- La Salle SIA College of the Arts, Singapore.
- Fort James Paper, Chicago USA.
Solo Shows
2008 Interior, Sabbia Gallery, Sydney.
2005 Symbiosis, Chappell Gallery, New York USA.
Group Shows
2008 Australian Glass Art, Gallery O, Perth.
Wanderlust, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
Minimalism, Prism Contemporary Glass, Chicago USA.
2007 Mastery in Glass, Singapore Arts Centre, Singapore.
Group Show, Kirra Gallery, Melbourne.
Offshore II, Studio Works Gallery Jam Factory, Adelaide.
New from Australia, Curator Ben Sewell, Chappell Gallery, New York USA.
Urban Glass 30th Anniversary Auction, New York USA.
2006 Tom Malone Prize, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth.
SOFA New York, Chappell Gallery, New York USA.
2005 Seeds of Light, 10th Anniversary Canberra Glass Workshop, ANU Canberra.
Australian Glass, Gaffer Glass Gallery, Hong Kong.
2004 Luminous Surface, Australian Contemporary SOFA Chicago USA.
Forty, Object Gallery, Sydney.
Cross Roads, Chappell Gallery, Boston USA.
Tom Malone Prize, Finalist, Western Australia, Perth.
2003 Australian Glass, Anna Bibby Gallery, Auckland New Zealand.
Ranamok Glass Prize, Finalist, Canberra Museum and Gallery, Canberra.
Hot Glass 2003, Axia Modern Art Gallery, Melbourne.
2002 City of Perth Craft Award, Craft West Gallery, Perth.
Less is More/ Less is a Bore, Brisbane City Gallery, Brisbane.
2001 Interiors, Object Gallery , Australian Centre for Craft and Design, Sydney.
Resonance Within, Chappell Gallery, New York USA.
Formal Qualities, Object Gallery, Australian Centre for Craft and Design, Sydney.
2000 Essentially Canberra, Hsinchu Glass Festival, Hsinchu Municipal Cultural Centre,
Taiwan. Earl Lu Gallery, La Salle-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore.
1999 Graduate Exhibition, National Institute of the Arts, ANU, Canberra.
1998 Au Kurant, Absolut Vodka Emerging Artists, SOFA, Chicago USA.
Talente, Australian Representative Craft Fair, Munich Germany.
Publications
2008 Craft Arts International, Towards Deep Simplicity, Feature article, Robert Cook
2006 Urban Glass Art Quarterly Magazine, 500 Glass Objects book review, Felix Li.
500 Glass Objects, Maurine Littleton, Lark Books. New York.
2005 Inside Out Magazine, A moment with Benjamin Sewell.
2002 Object Magazine, The one that grabs the eye, Ann Schilo.
Craft Culture, Less is More/ Less is a Bore, Peter Gomes.
2001 Object Magazine, Collectors Article Canberra, Meredith Hinchcliffe.
JahRoc Galleries currently have no glass art for sale by Ben Sewell.